The Return
by complete-randomalities
Summary: Mae Thorne was your typical sixteen year old. She had friends, got good grades in school, and a werewolf. Ok not so typical. So what will happen when this not so typical teen & her pack arrive in Beacon Hills and enters the lives of those who live there? What will happen when Mae discovers she's a reincarnate of sorts of Paige Krasikeva..well, you'll just have to wait and see...
1. Prologue

Mae Thorne was your typical sixteen year old. She had friends, got good grades in high school, and was a werewolf. Wait, that last part isn't typical of most sixteen year olds. So…okay, Mae wasn't exactly typical. In fact there was one other thing that wasn't typical about Mae Thorne. What was the other non typical thing you wonder? Well for one thing, she doesn't look like either one of her parents or any other member of her family. Why you wonder? Because she's not only a werewolf but a doppelganger or a reincarnation of sorts of Paige Krasikeva. (Of course she doesn't know this, nor does anyone else in her family/pack). The question on your mind now is…how? How is this sixteen year old girl the reincarnation of Paige Krasikeva? Well, you'll just have to stick around to find out, now won't you.

 _Derek looked like he had just seen a ghost. In his mind he had…more than once. At first he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him. That the young brunette he saw just reminded him of Paige as opposed to it being her. Then he saw the same girl again the following day…and again, and again, and again. After so many sightings of the girl he believed something was wrong with him. Poison, or something. That had to be it. Once he determined that was the only logical explanantion he went to see Deaton. Deaton ran his tests and found nothing wrong. Derek hid the worry on his face. Was he really going crazy, he wondered. Deaton asked Derek what was on his mind and Derek explained the Paige sightings and said how he thought he was going crazy. Deaton listened to Derek and told him that he wasn't going crazy and then explained why…._

 _(End Prologue.)_


	2. Chapter 1

Moving day, hooray. That was current thought in Mae's mind, accompanied with a sarcastic tone. Technically it was moving days since they've been driving for a what felt like forever now, but whatever.

This sixteen year old, female werewolf was being plucked up from her home and moved across the country much like any normal teenager would have been. Of course a normal teenager would be moved across the country for something like a parent's job transfer, or moving away from one parent to live with another (which of course wouldn't apply here since Mae's parents were still together), or even something like being sent to a boarding school. Those were relatively normal reasons. Being told by your alpha to pick up everything and move to a place that she'd never even heard of before, was not. The Alpha had his reasons of course but didn't care to share them with any of the 'lower betas' aka the 'kids'.

Mae's parents were in the van in front of the moving truck while Mae rode with one of her packmates; Ty. Their pack was pretty small with it consisting Mae and her parents, Ty, their Alpha; Damon and his daughter. Mae was not too happy with the sudden move so she was not too keen on the idea of being stuck in the van with their Alpha during the long drive. Hence the decision to drive with Ty in the moving truck.

Mae, not really in a conversing mood, had her sunglasses on and tried her best to make it seem like she was asleep. Sleeping wasn't in the cards even though it would be the best thing to do to make the time go by faster. Between crappy rest stops and being in the truck, Mae was starting to feel cabin feverish. She didn't want to go where they were headed and yet she couldn't wait to get there either. Pretty much just so she could run and feel free for the first time since this godforsaken move started. At least she was riding with Ty for the duration. He wasn't just a packmate of hers but pretty much her best friend. Not to mention he had taken on a kind of older brother role with her. Been that way for as long as she could remember and yet not. It was weird, the not part of it anyway. She'd been having weird dreams for the past week or two. Mae couldn't ever remember them when she awoke but they always felt weird to her. Mae hadn't mentioned them to anyone because she didn't see the point and besides, a girl's gotta have a secrets.

"Feet down." Were the words that pulled Mae from her thoughts whose feet were up on the dash. Mae ignored his words and continued to act like she was sleeping. "You're not fooling me Mae. Feet down."

She pulled her sunglasses down to look at Ty and replied, "No way."

Ty, who was only a few years older than Mae sounded way older when he replied with, "Don't make me pull this truck over."

She laughed at his threat, "You wouldn't do that."

Ty looked at her briefly as he said, "Alright then, you can tell everyone why we had to pull over." He turned on the directional light to indicate he was going to pull over and Mae shook her head defeatedly as she pulled her feet off the dash and placed them accordingly on the floor. "Better?" A question to which Ty only replied with a nod as he turned off the directional light.

Mae rolled her eyes as she put her sunglasses on top of her head and reapplied her black lipstick. Once she was satisfied with that and had nothing else to do, she started to drum her fingers on her leg in boredom. The radio in the truck didn't work so she only had her memory to replay songs over and over again in her head. As much as she loved her favorites, a change of pace would have been really nice. With an frustrated sigh she tried the radio again.

"It didn't work any other time you tried it Mae. It's not going to work for you now." Mae just glared at Ty and continued to try the radio to no avail.

"How much longer until we get to Bacon Hills?" She asked. Ty chuckled as he stopped at a sign then turned to continue following the van in front of them holding the rest of their pack.

"Beacon Hills, Mae. Beacon Hills. Say it with me now. Bea-con." Mae shoved Ty after he replied like that, but not enough to disrupt his driving.

"Shut up. Now come on, how much further to Beacon Hills?" She made sure to put an emphasis on the correct pronunciation of the word.

Ty looked up at a passing sign on the side of the road reading: Welcome to Beacon Hills. "You tell me." Ty replied with a smirk since he knew that Mae had just seen the same sign he did. Mae just glared at him before putting her sunglasses back over her eyes.

—-

The first thing Mae wanted to do was take off for a run when they reached their new house, apparently it used to be some old B&B so there was plenty of room for everyone. Sadly, she didn't get very far before she was pretty much ordered to help with the unloading. Mae wasn't too happy about it but complied. After making it clear that she wasn't happy about it that is. Damon didn't care for her attitude and pulled her parents off to the side to talk to them about it.

"You better watch it, he's not going to put up with you forever." Ty warned Mae as they walked up the ramp into the back of the truck.

Mae didn't reply and silently grabbed the most important thing she packed; her cello.

Ty grabbed her arm before she could leave to bring it inside and tried again, "I'm serious. One of these days you're going to push him too far and he's going to kick you out of the pack. Do you want that? To be an omega? What do you think that'd do to your parents?"

Mae often hated how Ty seemed to know her better than she knew herself more often than not. In fact she had been thinking about leaving the pack for a little while now. Mae didn't confirm nor deny this when she replied, "You don't have to become an omega to leave a pack. You just have to find a new alpha." was her reply.

Ty looked worried because of her words but let her go when she pulled away to bring her cello into the house.

Her parents were nowhere to be seen and neither was Damon or his daughter so they must already be inside. Mae was headed that way herself when a blue jeep pulled up and a young man came out. "Hey! I heard someone bought this place? Planning on opening it up again?"

Mae pulled her sunglasses down onto her nose a little. "Not that I know of. As far as I know, it's home. Now if you'll excuse me, I have stuff to do." Mae walked past the kid and headed inside.

As she walked away she heard him call out, "Well, okay then. See you at school or something!"

Mae just waved her hand behind her and proceeded inside. Was this town so small that the most exciting thing to happen was a new family moving into town? If that was the case then Mae was going to go bonkers. At least she had a forest nearby and her cello in hand. As long as she had those two, she was sure she could survive….for now.

—-

Mae flat ironed her long brown hair for her first day of school. Accompanied with a pair of jeans, black converse sneakers, black lipstick, a purple tank top and black leather jacket. Not to mention her cello, since she was planning on joining orchestra or band if she could. Whichever allowed it the playing of a cello. Mae wasn't about to take no for an answer, hence her bringing her instrument with her. She still couldn't believe that her parents offered to come with her. There was no way that was going to happen. Mae didn't even let them drop her off, Ty was allowed to after Mae received a long lecture about behavior and stuff. She kinda blocked her alpha out after the first few sentences so she really didn't catch it all. Not that she really cared.

Anyway, in front of the school she stood with slightly narrowed eyes. Mae was feeling a strong sense of dejavu, which was weird for her. (Weird being a word that she's been using a lot to descrive things lately). She couldn't help feeling as if she'd been here before or at least seen it. Not being able to determine the cause of this feeling was making her uncomfortable. It didn't stop her from hearing someone come up behind her. Mae whipped around to find the nosy kid that stopped by when her pack moved into the old B&B. The guy held up his hands in surrender.

"Whoa there. Didn't mean to scare ya. Just thought I'd say hi and introduce myself since you really didn't give me a chance to do that before." he said to her.

Mae set her cello case in a standing position in front of her and leaned on it as she looked at him. He looked confused by her actions which made Mae say, "Well? I'm waiting, you gonna introduce yourself or am I going to have to keep referring to you as the nosy hyper guy?"

He laughed at her reply, "You're funny."

She cut him off before he could anything else, "No, I'm Mae and still waiting for who you are."

He liked her snark, "I'm Stiles" he answered right before the bell for first period rang out "and we better get to class." he added in afterwards.

Mae sighed but agreed and picked up her cello case, "Lead the way then." Mae really didn't need or want his help but she found this Stiles character mildly amusing so she'd put up with him. Stiles waved for her to come along and Mae walked into school with him to start her first day.

—

That was the first time Derek saw her. Or at least the first time he thought he saw her. Derek had to talk to Scott about something so he was going to talk to him at school. As he drove by he saw her. Derek thought he was seeing things. He had to be. That girl leaning on the cello case couldn't be Paige. But it looked like her. He had only caught a glimpse as he drove by but he couldn't stop thinking that it looked so much like Paige. By the time he parked his car, since he wasn't about to ditch it in the middle of the parking lot, and got to the front of the school all the students were heading inside and she was nowhere to be seen. Derek couldn't get the glimpse of the girl out of his head but he had other things to deal with so he pushed it back and continued on with his main reason for going to the school in the first place.

(End Chapter 1)


	3. Chapter 2

Ugh, High School. As if being a teenage werewolf wasn't bad enough she had to deal with the workings of high school. Okay, Mae really couldn't complain too much since her first day wasn't all that bad. The hyperactive spazz known as Stiles showed her to her first class and Mae found her way around pretty easily after that. It was almost like she had a sixth sense as to where her classrooms were. Mae simply explained it as this school being pretty much the same layout as any other high school. Yeah, even she knew that was a lame excuse but with everything else on her mind she really didn't want to deal with the ever present feeling like she'd been there before. Despite these efforts to not think about it she got distracted by it a few times in class and even got chewed out by one of her teachers for 'daydreaming'. If Mae was going to spend her time in class daydreaming, she wouldn't be wasting it on trying to figure out what was causing the nagging feeling inside her.

When the lunch bell rang Mae's hearing caught the sound of the spazz's voice mentioning her. She immediately headed for the other direction and ended up in the music room. Mae was not in the mood to deal with anyone and just wanted some space. After entering the room she closed the door behind her and sighed with a smile when she saw her cello case that she placed in the room earlier that day. The music teacher was out sick that day so Mae would have to make her case about being allowed to join band or orchestra tomorrow. There really wasn't enough time to practice anything so Mae made her way around the room.

With every step Mae took the nagging feeling inside grew. She ignored them as she walked over to the shelves of instruments. Mae had been able to play the cello since the moment she picked one up so she never tried to play anything else. She didn't see the need to. Mae's eyes move over the instruments there and she named off each one as she heard their sound in her head. Just because she never bothered to learn to play another instrument, that didn't mean she didn't appreciate them.

When Mae's eyes landed on the triangle she found herself smiling but didn't know why. Triangles had always been her favorite shape and she loved the little sound it made when played. Just another thing that's been like that for as long as she could remember. Mae was about to reach out to pick up the simple little instrument when the bell rang out indicating that lunch period was over. Had she really just wasted her entire lunch period? Apparently so. With a sigh she scooped her bag off the floor and headed to her next class.

—-

After school that's when things started to get really weird for Mae. As if the nagging feeling inside wasn't bad enough. Mae waited until the music room had cleared out before going back to get her cello and head home. That was her plan anyway; grab her cello, meet Ty outside, go home and practice like crazy to ensure she impresses the music teacher the next day. Plans have a way of changing themselves though. As soon as Mae entered the music room this time she felt the stronge urge to play. A song was on loop in her head that's she's known since the first time she picked up a cello. Where she heard it first was a mystery to her but it was her favorite. Not seeing the harm in taking a little time to practice there, since Ty would wait for her anyway, Mae carefully started to remove her most cherished item from its case.

Mae took a seat in the middle of the front row with her cello in hand and started to play. The music filled the room and her ears but before long another sound accompanied it. An annoying 'thump, thump, thump' sound of a dribbling basketball made Mae lose her place. She grumbled in frustration then started again but the sound continued to distract her. Mae did her best to drown out the sound with her music but it soon became that the only sound in her ears was the thump thump of that blasted ball being dribbled. Mae's eyes turned yellow as she glared at the door. As soon as her eyeswent back to normal she set her cello aside and left the room to follow the sound and give whoever was making it a piece of her mind.

The closer Mae got to the source of the sound, the louder it became. As she headed for the corner she called out, "Don't you people know that basketball is meant to be played in the gym?" As soon as Mae turned the corner the sound stopped and there was no one in sight. Mae turned around and did a double take as to what had just happened. She takes a few steps forward and feels the same nagging feeling again. "Weird." She said aloud and turned around to head back to the music room, not before looking over her shoulder a time or two again just in case.

Mae went back to her seat and resumed her practice, but the sound of the dribbling basketball filled her ears once again. Her annoyance level had reached and ultimate high so she gave up and packed up her cello to leave. In spite of every instinct telling her to stay. This was all too weird for her and knew if she went tracking whoever it was that was messing with her, that she might not be able to control herself. So, Mae put her cello away and headed out the back to meet Ty in the parking lot where he was probably already waiting.

—

Derek dealt with what he needed to with Scott earlier that day but at the end of the day he found himself outside of the school; watching as the kids piled out after the last bell rang. He couldn't get that glimpse of the girl out of his head. Derek knew it wasn't Paige, knew it couldn't be her. But the image of that girl leaning on the cello case was driving him nuts. He just had to see who it really was to put his mind at ease. The easiest way of course would be to ask Stiles who he had been talking to that morning but he wasn't about to ask Stiles something like that. Derek could easily imagine all the different ways that could go wrong or weird if he were to get Stiles involved. No, this was something he had to take care of himself.

He was starting to feel like a creeper sitting out in his car like that as he watched the students leave. Out of all the faces that emerged from the school, not one of them was who he was looking for. Derek could have just left it alone, but he didn't. Once the large group of kids were gone and only a few stragglers remained, Derek went inside.

Derek wandered the halls a bit when he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks. It was a song that he hadn't heard in a very long time. Not since Paige played it in fact. It had to be a coincidence, yet it was something worth checking out. Derek headed for the music room even after the music had stopped but arrived too late. By the time he got to the room, whoever had been playing the music was gone. What was there was just as unnerving. It was a scent that was so very familiar to him and yet different at the same time. The room smelled like Paige but it also smelled like a wolf. This was something Derek couldn't ignore.

Derek followed the scent out of the room, through the halls, and outside where he caught sight of a girl putting a cello into a van and then getting inside. Once again he had only caught a glimpse of her and once again; it was Paige. Derek stood there with clenching fists as he watched the van drive off. If he didn't feel like he was going crazy before, he was sure as hell feeling it now.

(End Chapter 2)


	4. Chapter 3

After Derek saw the girl again who resembled Paige so greatly he tried to follow the van. Unfortunately, by the time his mind processed that was what he should do, the van driving her was long gone. Derek went back to his loft and tried to make sense of it all. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He wondered this as he paced back and forth. It didn't make any sense, not in the least.

Derek knew that if he kept this up for much longer he'd drive himself crazy. It was time to ask for assistance. No, he was not going to ask Stiles who the girl was. That was not an option. Not yet anyway. No, he had another idea in mind; Deaton. If anyone knew what was going on it'd be him. Perhaps he had gotten poisoned somehow that was making him hallucinate? If that was the case then there was no time to lose. Derek grabbed his coat and drove to the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic.

-

Deaton was out front when Derek entered. "This is unexpected Derek. What can I do for you?"

Derek got as close as he could due to the ash barrier before saying, "I need you to run every test possible or whatever it is that you do. I…I think I'm seeing things." It was clear Derek was reluctant to admit it

Deaton looked intrigued by Derek's statement and opened the barrier so Derek could go in back. "Well then," Deaton began, "Let's see what the problem is."

Without a word Derek headed straight for the back to figure out what the hell was going on.

Deaton ran all the tests he knew of to check for toxins that could cause hallucinations and all came back negative. When the final test came back so, Derek threw his coat across the room and clenched his fists. "You missed something! You had to have missed something." Derek sat down in a chair and leaned forward with his hands together as he continued to try to make sense of things.

Deaton leaned against the table across from Derek and said, "Why don't you tell me exactly what's going on? What have you been seeing Derek?"

Derek rubbed his hands together slowly before answering, "Paige. I've been seeing Paige. I know it's impossible, she's dead. But I heard her music…I saw her face…I'm going crazy."

Derek doesn't look at Deaton as he speaks and therefore doesn't see the expression on Deaton's face. It's not one of concern but of understanding. "It would have saved a lot of time if you had told me this sooner Derek." Deaton's words caught Derek's attention. Deaton continued with his explanation. "What you have just told me is quite possible. Sacrifices that were made to the Nemeton are reborn as a….thank you for their sacrifice. That being said Derek, you are not crazy."

Derek stands up after hearing Deaton's words and asks, "Are you telling me that Paige isn't dead? You're the one who's crazy if that's what you're telling me. She died in my arms dammit!"

Deaton tries to find the right words to make Derek understand completely, "I'm not saying that Derek. Paige is dead but her essence was reborn. In simpler terms, she was reincarnated Derek. The girl you are seeing is most likely the reincarnation of Paige."

Derek shook his head in disbelief, "No, it can't be. Paige was a human. This girl was a werewolf. I know that for certain."

Deaton looked amused which agitated Derek, "What's that look for?" Derek asked and Deaton simply replied, "I'm surprised you haven't put it together yourself Derek. Paige died from a wolf bite didn't she? So wouldn't it make sense for her reincarnation to be born as what Paige wasn't capable of becoming? To finish the cycle?"

Derek was having a hard time wrapping his mind around all of this. "So it's Paige but also not her?"

Deaton nodded in reply.

"Will she remember me? Does she remember anything about Paige?" Derek asked, needing to know.

Deaton moved away from the table as he spoke, "Now that Derek I can't answer. It's something you're going to have to find out on your own." And that was something Derek fully intended on doing.

—–

Derek headed straight for Stiles' house after leaving the animal clinic. Seems there was no way to avoid getting him involved now. Stiles was the only person that Derek knew of who had contact with the girl.

Without word nor warning Derek burst into Stiles' room which nearly gave the video game playing teenager a heart attack. "Derek, what the hell?" Stiles said in shocked annoyance as he tossed his game controller on the bed.

Derek got right up in Stiles' face and said, "The girl you were talking to this morning, who is she?"

Stiles looked confused, "What girl?"

Derek's voice rose, "The one with the cello!"

Stiles made the connection now, "You mean Mae? She just moved here."

Derek's voice was quick with his next question, "Where?"

Stiles was so confused by all the questions that it took him a moment to answer and his answer was stammered, "The old BB, the one that's been closed down for awhile."

Derek knew exactly which one Stiles was talking about. Now with the information he needed he quickly left the Stilinski house and drove out to the old B&B.

Stiles was left in his room asking, "What the fuck was that about?" He was half tempted to go back to his video game but pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Scott instead.

—-

Derek knew he'd have to tread lightly for more reasons than one. He knew this girl was a werewolf which meant that she was most likely part of a pack. Especially if she had just moved there and was enrolled in school. That was not the behavior of an omega.

Derek stayed in his car parked down the road a bit, looking at the B&B in his rear view mirror. His window was down to get a better sound of the music that was coming from one of the rooms on the second floor. It was the same music he heard earlier; a song that he would never forget.

For the first time in a long time, Derek didn't have a plan. What was he going to do? Go right up to the front door and ask to speak to the cello playing girl who looked exactly like his dead teenage girlfriend? Yeah, no. That was not a good idea. Derek would just have to wait it out and see what happened. If anything he now at least knew where she lived.

Derek was about to start the car and drive off when he realized the music stopped. Not long after that, the girl came out of the front door. Derek's eyes locked on her. Even with her dark eyeliner and black lipstick, it was Paige. It couldn't be a coincidence that this girl knew the song Paige was playing the day they met when he was a teenager. There had to be more Paige to this girl than just her looks. Derek was trying very hard to come up with a plan, an excuse to get out of the car and go over to talk to her. And yet no ideas were coming to his mind. No movement was coming from his body. Derek just sat there in his car and looked at the girl in his rear view mirror.

The act that jolted Derek out of his daze was the girl tying her hair up in a pony tail then taking off towards a path in the back that led to the hiking trails in the woods. Not about to lose sight of her a second…a third time Derek got out of his car and waited to give her a little heard start before catching her scent and following her into the woods.

—–

The events that happened after school to Mae were going on repeat in her head when she tried to practice. It got to be so distracting, in spite of her usual laser like focus. Because of this, she had to get out of the house. Mae told Ty, to tell Damon (their alpha) that she was going out for a run in case he asked. Ty could tell that there was something on her mind so he let her go without any grief. Something that Mae was grateful for.

As soon as Mae was outside she breathed in the fresh air and let out a breath of relief. At least being outside wasn't turning against her like her cello playing apparently had. After getting her hair tied up so it wouldn't be in the way as she ran, she took off into the woods on one of the paths she discovered soon after moving in.

Mae felt so free whenever she ran and this time was no different. She wasn't afraid to let herself go and push herself to her max in regards to her speed and agility. Mae would jump over fallen logs, push herself off trees for more distance and other fun stuff like that. At one point she missed a root and ended up tripping and tumbling a bit. Instead of this dragging her down in made her lie on her back and laugh. Oh she needed that laugh.

When her laughter subsided she heard footsteps approaching. Mae got to her feet and sniffed the air. She caught the scent of another werewolf that was not from her pack but it was oddly familiar to her regardless. Ignoring the last part she said to herself, "Shit." And took off running again. Not for fun this time, this time it was in hopes of losing whatever werewolf was following her in case they were looking for trouble.

Mae thought she'd lost the wolf a couple times but he always ended up finding her. Eventually Mae gave up and decided to face whoever it was. This cat and mouse game was getting old real quick. She came upon a clearing and stopped running so she could turn around and see whoever it was.

The footsteps of the wolf slowed and eventually came to a stop. Mae's eyes turned yellow for a moment before saying, "I know you're following me! Might as well show yourself!" She called out which resulted in a tall, really handsome guy step out from behind a tree. There was a pang of familiarity as she looked at him and the way he looked at her was unnerving.

The guy (Derek) looked at her like he had just seen a ghost and yet looked like he wanted to hug her or something. It was weirdly sweet but also a bit freaky. Mae crossed her arms and rolled her shoulders a little. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I know you or something?"

The guy got closer but Mae stayed right where she was. "That's what I'm trying to figure out." He replied. When he spoke, Mae felt like….well…like she had been waiting her whole life to hear that sound and now she had.

End Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4

Derek felt like he was seeing a ghost. If Deaton hadn't explained things to him then he would have thought he was. Okay maybe not exactly a ghost but something. The idea of reincarnation or whatever this was, was a concept that he had never considered. Honestly, he never even thought it was possible. The girl, who Stiles said was named Mae, looked at him like she was finding him familiar. Derek was starting to wonder if that was a good idea or not; for Paige, for _Mae_ to remember him. Derek blamed himself to this very day for Paige's death. Who knows how Mae will react to him if she remembers Paige's life, Paige's death…remembers him.

Mae didn't like the silence between them. It was making her even more uncomfortable than she already was. Not to mention the fact that she had asked him if she knew him, as opposed to asking if he knew her. What was that about? Mae felt like she'd seen him before but also knew she didn't, if that made any sense. Which it didn't. This was all too confusing for her. "Who are you?" Mae finally asked to break the silence between them.

Hearing her ask him what his name was, was amusing to him in a strange way. The tables were turned this time around. This time he knew who she was but she didn't know who he was. "Derek." He replied and gauged her reaction to his name. He was torn with what he wanted her reaction to be. A part of him wanted her to remember him instantly and the other part never wanted her to remember.

"Okay, Derek. What do you want? You figure out if I know you…I mean if you know me yet?" There she went again asking him for confirmation of if she knew him. His reply of, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." made Mae rise to the challenge. "Try me."

This reply brought a grin to Derek's face. "Not yet." He turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Mae called out to him.

To which he replied without looking back, "If you want to know so badly then follow me."

Mae knew this was a bad idea; to go off with a strange werewolf, but it also felt like something that she had to do. So, she did it.

—–

Mae had followed Derek out of the woods and out to his car. He opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to get inside before she had even made the decision to do so. Mae looked at Derek, "You're a bit too sure of yourself aren't you? What makes you think I'm going to get in the car with you?"

Derek replied, "Because you know you want to."

His 'so sure of himself' reply wanted to make Mae grin, but she didn't…okay maybe she did a little bit. Mae got in the passenger seat and looked out the window to find Ty darting out of the house with a 'what the hell do you think you're doing?!' look on his face. Mae knew she was going to be in big trouble when she got back but she still felt like this was something she had to do.

Derek got into the car and took off before Ty tried to run over and stop them. Mae just hoped that Ty wouldn't get into trouble with their alpha for her actions.

"So, where are we going?" Mae asked Derek as he put on his sunglasses and drove off.

He replied with, "You'll see"

Mae's eyes rolled at this reply, "I know I'll see where we are going eventually but I would like to know now. Is that a crime?"

Derek chuckled, "Have you always been this impatient?"

Mae thought about it for a moment, "Nope. I think it's something that you bring out of me."

Derek looked at Mae with a grin and kept driving.

Mae pulled her hair out of her ponytail as she commented, "Hey, how come you haven't asked about my name? I'm.."

She was cut off by Derek saying, "I know who you are."

Mae's brows raised at this, "Okay that's not creepy in the slightest." Mae replied sarcastically.

"And yet you still got in the car." He replied as he looked at her momentarily.

Mae didn't have a remark for that because he had a point, "How do you know my name then?"

Derek waited a minute before replying, "Stiles told me."

Mae laughed, "You know that spazz? What did he say about me? Anything interesting?"

Derek scoffed a chuckled, "You care why?"

Mae shrugged, "A girl's gotta have her options."

Derek's brow furrowed at that remark as they pulled into the school parking lot.

"Now I'm confused." Mae commented as she looked out the window, "Why are we here?"

Derek turned off the car and asked his own questions, "Do you feel like you've been in Beacon Hills before? This place seem oddly familiar to you?"

Mae looked at Derek and nodded slightly, meanwhile trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"You want answers?" He asked in which Mae nodded again, "Then follow me."

Mae didn't understand why she trusted him but she got out of the car and followed him inside the school.

—-

Derek brought Mae into the music room.

After Mae entered she said, "Spill it wolf boy. What's going on?"

Derek pulled a chair out for her and set it in the middle of the room. "Take a seat."

Mae crossed her arms, "I'd rather stand."

Derek replied, "Suit yourself." He started walking around the room a bit and Mae watched him. "How long have you played the cello?" He asked.

Mae laughed at his question, "Why is that important and how do you know that? Wait nevermind, Stiles. I swear if he put you up to this to interrogate me or something I'm going to claw his eyes out."

Derek was amused, "Just answer the question."

Mae sighed, "Since I picked one up. I was a kid."

Derek nodded as he took in this information, "Anyone else in your family play?"

Mae wanted to ask why again but the sooner she answered his questions the sooner she'd get hers answered. "No. In fact I'm pretty sure my mom is tone deaf but whatever…" Mae trailed off as she heard the thump, thump, thump of the basketball dribbling again. "Not this time." Mae said with determination as she ran out of the music room. Derek, confused, took off after her.

Mae ended up where she did before in the hall and again there was no one. "What the hell!" Mae kicked the wall.

Derek tried to calm her down, "Whoa, hey what's going on?"

Mae's voice rose, "Are you telling me you didn't hear that?"

Derek shook his head.

Knowing that Derek hadn't heard what she had just infuriated her more. "I heard the same thing earlier! That stupid ball dribbling."

Derek's postured straightened at the mention of basketball dribbling, "When?" He asked.

"You mean before right now? Earlier when I was practicing. It was driving me nuts! I came out here to give them a piece of my mind and there was no one. Went back to practicing and heard it again so I just left. Weird stuff like that has been happening to me lately." Mae leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor.

Derek took a seat next to her.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm not living my own life. Which doesn't make any sense because you only get one life." Mae admitted then looked at Derek, "And then there's you. A creepy, stalkerish, wolf boy who seems to know way more about me than I know about you and yet I still trust you and feel like I know you. This is all just messed up."

He couldn't bear seeing Mae like this. It was time to tell her what was going on. Derek took a breath. "Mae…we need to talk."

—

Mae sat on the hood of Derek's car after he brought her outside to explain as much as he knew, and was willing to tell her. Derek had left out the details of Paige's death. That wasn't something he was willing to share with her right then and honestly never wanted to. Hopefully she wouldn't ever remember.

At the end of it all Mae spoke. "So…I'm a reincarnation..or whatever, of a girl that used to live here. Paige? You said her name was Paige right?"

Derek nodded.

"Because she died at some supernatural hot spot of power, that's the only reason why I was born?" Mae continued.

Derek replied, "I don't think I'd go that far but…"

"But I wouldn't be who I am now if she hadn't died." Mae interjected which made Derek nod again. "So…that's why I've been feeling so much dejavu lately. I've technically, kinda, sort of, have been here before." Mae's eyes widened for a moment as she took it all in. "Well this isn't crazy." Mae was being quite sarcastic but asked, "The basketball dribbling, that's what made you and Paige meet? You distracted her. Because of that, the supernatural hubbub was trying to tell me something. Hence me hearing the sound."

Derek leaned against his car and nodded again.

"I still feel crazy." Mae said with a sigh.

Derek couldn't help but chuckle before he said, "The feeling is mutual, Mae."

Mae slid off the hood and leaned against the car next Derek. "It's going to take me awhile to process all of this."

Derek wasn't surprised to hear that, "I'm surprised you believed me."

Mae nudged Derek a little, "What can I say?"

Derek finished her thought, "I just bring that out in you?" Mae nodded with a smile which made both her and Derek laugh.

Their laughter was interrupted by an unhappy snarl. Derek instinctively got defensive as his claws and fangs appeared. "Oh crap." Mae stated when Ty appeared with his own claws and fangs showing.

Ty looked like he wanted to rip Derek's throat out and honestly Derek looked the same. Mae quickly got between the two of them. "Take it easy you two. I'll kick you both to next Tuesday if you don't."

Ty reluctantly went back to 'normal' but Derek took a moment longer to do so. The glare coming from Mae finally made him do the same. Mae crossed her arms and looked at Ty, "What are you doing here?" she asked

Ty had an 'I can't believe you're asking me that' look on his face. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here! One second you're going for a run and the next you're getting in a car with some guy. I track you here to find out he's a werewolf! You know Damon's rules about intermingling packs. If he finds out then you're gone Mae, is that what you want! Who is this guy anyway?"

Derek was about to answer when Mae beat him to it, "That's Derek Hale. My boyfriend in a past life." The expression on Ty's face was not amused and Derek's was 'I can't believe she just said that'.

Mae looked at Ty, "Ty, just because we are a part of the same pack, that doesn't mean you can dictate what I do and where I can go. No one is going to dictate that, not even Damon. I see how my parents look at me and I know how Damon feels about me so if you are making me choose now whether or not to come back to the pack period, then you really don't want to hear my answer."

Ty looked past Mae to Derek and said angrily, "This is your fault."

Derek took a step closer but was stopped by Mae. "I can take care of myself mister." Mae said to him firmly. Derek looked at Mae and didn't doubt that fact one bit, so he backed off. "Ty," Mae said, "you should go."

Ty looked like he had just been punched in the gut. "Are you serious right now?"

Mae nodded and Ty glared at Derek before returning his eyes to Mae. "If you aren't back in one hour I won't be able to protect you from Damon." Ty said this in a hushed tone but Derek was able to hear it clearly.

Mae replied, "No one's asking you to."

Ty couldn't believe Mae's behavior and with an unhappy grumble he took off running back to the house.

Mae closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Crap." She said to herself then turned to face Derek.

"Boyfriend?" Derek asked, actually feeling a bit jealous of the guy though he'd never admit it.

Mae shook her head, "Packmate who's the closest thing I have to a brother."

Derek nodded in understanding, "What's that Damon guy going to do when you get back?"

Mae scoffed, "My alpha? He'll do what he does any other time of his betas get out of line…Teach them a lesson."

Derek did not like the sound of that. Not one bit. "You could leave the pack." Derek offered.

Mae laughed at the thought, "Yeah, I know I could but my parents are a part of Damon's pack. And his betas aren't supposed to associate with other betas unless there is a treaty or something between them. So if I left I'd probably never see them again. I couldn't do that, I couldn't leave them like that. I may be one to break the rules but they aren't. Heck, I'm breaking one of Damon's rules just by talking to you. If he finds out about me being Paige's whatever, then things are really going to get bad." Mae went back over to Derek's car and leaned against it. "I feel like I'm getting punched with information."

Derek could understand that. "It's a lot to take in." he commented. Hell, he was still trying to take it all in and make sense of it all.

Mae let out a sigh, "And not just on my end either. Is it…hard for you to be talking to me? Is it weird? It has to be weird, what am I saying."

Derek mulled over his thoughts before replying, "It was harder not knowing. Seeing you and not understanding how or why was harder. Actually talking to you with her face and the similarities between you two? Weird isn't the right word for it."

Mae asked softly, "Painful then?"

Derek didn't answer that question and evaded it with a subject change. "Now about your alpha…"

Mae rolled her eyes and slouched down to the ground. Talking about her alpha was the last thing she wanted to do.

—–

Mae talked to Derek for awhile about what life with her pack was like, how severe her alpha could be when betas broke certain rules, and about the dreams she'd been having. Derek confirmed that some of the dreams were of actual events in Paige's life, that he knew of anyway. It was starting to make sense why the announced move to Beacon Hills would trigger that within her. Nothing else would have since there wasn't anything about Paige's life tied to Mae back east.

Derek still tried to convince Mae to leave her pack and while she wanted to, she wasn't going to just join anyone's pack. She would have to get to know the alpha first and then make her choice. Even then she might not do it unless her parents went along with her. Which she highly doubted would happen. Even with knowing all this, Derek had an idea, a plan. Mae just didn't know it yet.

It was finally time for Mae to get back home and face whatever wrath was going to meet her. Derek reluctantly drove her back and pulled up in front of the house. Mae took a moment before getting ready to go inside.

"I feel like I should say something profound or witty right now but I got nothing." Mae said to him after placing her hand on the door handle.

Derek looked at Mae and chuckled, "Don't worry about it."

Mae smiled at Derek and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek. An act that caught Derek by surprise but didn't show it. "See ya around wolf boy." Mae smiled then got out of the car and headed inside.

Derek watched as she got out and went in. He hoped he'd made the right decision in reaching out to Mae like he had…and hoped that he didn't just get himself, and her, in something way over their heads.

(End Chapter 4)


	6. Chapter 5

Mae was absent from the school the following day. Something Derek discovered when she didn't come out after the final bell rang. Derek was waiting for Mae in the school parking lot in hopes to talk more about what had occurred. When she didn't emerge, he got worried.

When Stiles and Scott came out of the school, Derek went over to them. He didn't particularly want to as them if they saw Mae that day but he needed to know.

"Well if it isn't the trespasser wolf." Stiles said to Derek sarcastically upon approach.

Derek didn't acknowledge Stiles' words and asked, "You see Mae today?"

Stiles didn't answer Derek's question and instead turned to Scott, "See. I told you there was something up between him and that Mae girl."

Derek was growing impatient, "Just answer the question Stiles."

Scott looked between Stiles and Derek judging a potential time for input.

Stiles adjusted his backpack as he answered, "No Derek, I haven't. I was going to ask her to hang out with us after school today but no go. What's your deal with her anyway?"

There was no need for Derek to stick around since he had the answer he was looking for and turned to leave.

Stiles raised his arm and gestured after Derek, "And there he goes again without answering anything. Seriously, what is his deal with that girl?"

Scott shrugged then took off after Derek. If he wasn't going to answer Stiles then maybe Derek would answer Scott.

"Okay then! I guess I'll just meet you at the Jeep?" Stiles called after Scott who just answered with a brief acknowledging wave over his head. Stiles rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh and got into his Jeep and waited.

"Derek, wait up!" Scott called after Derek which made him slow reluctantly. "What's going on? You wouldn't be holding back if there wasn't something going on."

Derek did not want to admit that Scott was right. So, he remained silent.

"What's going on?" Scott asked again. Derek's lack of reply was just more reason for Scott to think that there really was something big going on.

There was way too much to tell and Derek didn't really want Scott to know the whole story anyway. "It's complicated." Was Derek's reply.

"But important?" Scott inquired with an affirming nod from Derek. After receiving the nod from Derek, Scott replied with "Okay. How can I help?"

—

After giving as little details as possible, Derek still managed to get Scott to help him convince Stiles to do as he asked.

Stiles had Mae's assignments in hand when he walked up the steps to her house. After knocking a few times he was starting to grow impatient. Stiles was just about to quit waiting when the door slowing opened and finally showed it was Mae who opened it. "Cello girl!" Stiles said with enthusiasm, "You're alive!"

Mae looked like she wanted to punch Stiles right in the face. "Spazz boy. What are you doing here?" Mae turned around a little to make sure no one was standing behind her before turning her attention back to Stiles who was waving around a text book and papers.

"I got your homework since you missed school today. Not a very good way to start out I have got to say. This being your second day and all. Can I come in?" Stiles tried to make it through the door but Mae stopped him.

"Now's not a good time. But thanks." Mae replied then tried to reach for her assignments but Stiles pulled them away. "Five minutes, come on. I promised the teacher that I'd explain the assignments to you."

Stiles tried to get in again but was again stopped by Mae. "Spazz boy, not going to say it again, now's not a good time." A voice from inside the house called out for Mae which made her turn around all the way, revealing some wet red blotches on the back of her shirt.

"Jeeze Mae, are you bleeding?" Stiles asked as he reached out to touch the spots but she swatted at his hand. "Tye dye gone wrong." Mae swiped the assignments from his hands and closed the door without a word. Leaving a flabbergasted Stiles in her wake.

Mae set the school work down on the end table near the door then went back into the living room. Ty, her parents, and Damon's daughter were sitting down where Damon was standing in the middle of the room. Stiles had interrupted her punishment and now it was time to continue. Whenever Damon punished a member of the pack he always made it a 'family affair'. Anyone who tried to stop it got it even worse.

"Let me see." Damon said to Mae who went over to him to let him inspect her back. "You've always been a fast healer. Even against wounds inflicted by an Alpha." He commented before bringing out his claws and striking them across her back again. This time with more force than before, just to make his point that even though she was a fast healer that didn't mean it was going to hurt any less.

Mae wanted to cry out in pain but refused to. She wouldn't give Damon the satisfaction. This was her punishment for breaking his rules of associating with a beta from another pack without permission. Ty told Damon because he had to. If he didn't then they would both get worse than what Mae was getting now.

—–

Stiles drove his Jeep down the road to meet up with Scott and Derek. "Well?" Derek asked after Stiles got out.

"She was home." Stiles replied simply.

"And?" Scott inquired, to which Stiles replied, "And I really don't think those red blotches on her shirt were Tye Dye gone wrong."

Neither Derek nor Scott understood the reference which made Stiles explain everything. Once Stiles was done with all that Derek wanted to burst into that house and get Mae out of there. He was stopped by Stiles and Scott before he even made it to his car.

"What exactly is your plan Derek? To go in there and tear down anyone who's in your way, put Mae over your shoulder and carry her out like a caveman? Not very smooth. We don't even know what the situation is, not really." Stiles said to try to convince Derek to think before acting which wasn't usually something he had to do. Or really something anyone ever had to do, he realized when he thought about it when it came to Derek.

Derek didn't have an answer which just infuriated him even more. "I never should have let her go back there. She told me her alpha would teach her a lesson." Derek finally spoke.

The mention of an alpha caught both Scott and Derek by surprise. "Mae's a werewolf?" They asked in unison.

Derek looked at them with a slightly raised brow, "You're telling me neither of you noticed that? The true alpha and his boy wonder?"

Scott had never met Mae and Stiles hadn't spent enough time with her to notice, which made Stiles reply with, "No need for the snark Derek. In case you haven't noticed we are trying to help here. Even though you kinda have a point..."

Derek knew Stiles was right but hated being in a position to not be able to do anything right away. If he went over there now it'd just make things worse and he knew it. "Do you have any suggestions?" Derek asked as he looked at Scott and Stiles.

Stiles just scoffed, "Uh yeah. Time to call in the cavalry."

—-

The cavalry, otherwise known as Lydia was the next to show up at Mae's house after being bribed with one thing or another. This time it was Ty who had answered the door. "Can I help you?"

Lydia smiled charmingly, "I'm sure you can. I'm here to pick up Mae. We made plans yesterday and missing school or not she is not getting out of this."

Ty looked Lydia over who tilted her head to the side and said, "Well, are you going to get her or am I?"

Ty thought for a moment before saying, "Wait here."

Lydia sighed and turned around as she waited. It was a few minutes before someone came outside and closed the door behind them.

"Who are you?" Mae asked quietly so the others inside wouldn't hear.

Lydia turned around to answer then froze with wide eyes as she looked at Mae. "You're….you're supposed to be dead."

Mae looked at Lydia like she was crazy, "And you're messed up." Mae was about to head inside again before she was stopped by Lydia who grabbed her arm. Mae winced a bit because it was still sore from Damon's punishment.

Lydia noticed this but spoke anyway, in hushed tones, "Derek sent me."

That was all Mae needed to hear. She nodded and said, "Okay. I need five minutes."

Lydia told Mae she'd meet her at the car and Mae headed inside. Lydia couldn't shake the feeling that, that girl should have already been dead.

Mae went back inside the house and spoke to Damon. "If I don't go then people are going to know something's up. I already missed my second day of school. Do we really need social services or whatever knocking on our door to see what's up? You can't bite everyone Damon."

Damon growled at Mae before replying, "Even with your punishment you still have that mouth of yours?"

Mae looked away with her glare. Half expecting to be struck again.

"Go." Damon ordered, "But when you return we will continue with your punishment."

Mae didn't look at Damon as she turned around to leave. She grabbed her backpack and winced again as she pulled it over her shoulder. Mae was about to get out the door when Ty walked over to her.

"Mae…" He started but it was returned with Mae's glowing eyes.

"Stay away from me Ty. I mean it." was her growled reply.

Ty tried to explain why he had to tell Damon, that it was better he had, but Mae wasn't going to listen to any of it and hurried out the door to get into Lydia's car. Mae got into the passenger side as Lydia looked at her like she was a puzzle that needed to be figured out.

"How are you alive?" Lydia asked her.

Mae looked at Lydia and replied sarcastically yet truthfully, "I was reborn."

Lydia seemed to accept this reason somehow on some level anyway and just shrugged before turning on the ignition and driving to Derek's loft.

—-

Mae followed Lydia into Derek's loft and saw that Derek wasn't the only one there but Stiles, and some other guy that she didn't know. "Okay I got her here, now where's my reward?" Lydia asked.

Derek sighed and handed over an envelope to Lydia who took it with a prideful look on her face.

"You have just made my credit limit very happy." She said to Derek as she took the envelope from his hand and headed out the door. As she walked away she commented, "You're going to have to tell me how she's not dead. I'm not really buying the whole reborn thing."

Derek groaned inwardly as Stiles and the other guy looked at each other in confusion. Stiles was about to open his mouth to ask but Derek instantly said, "Don't." That shut Stiles up for the moment. Stiled was going to make time to ask his questions later, he'd make sure there was time.

Mae still didn't know why that Lydia chick who seemed to be obsessed with death had brought her to see Derek. While Mae did trust him, that was only going to get him so far. "Derek? What's this about?"

Derek looked her over, "How are you?" he asked in a hushed, worried tone.

Mae got defensive, "I'm fine." she replied firmly, while trying to sound honest even though she doubted she could get away with lying.

Stiles scoffed, "Liar. Tye dye gone wrong my ass."

Mae growled in Stiles' direction then Derek turned her attention to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked again. His eyes telling her that he wasn't going to let her evade the question again.

Mae put her hands in her back pockets of her jeans, "I'm still a little sore but I'm a fast healer. I told you Damon punishes his betas for breaking his rules." Mae was glad she didn't get hooked up to the electricity like Ty had been once.

She kept that thought to herself as the wolf she didn't know came over and spoke, "There's a difference between punishment and abuse."

Mae snapped back, "Yeah? What do you know?" Mae challenged with her yellow eyes which made the wolf she didn't know respond with showing her his red ones. That was unexpected to say the very least. Her eyes turned back to normal as she looked him over, "Who are you?"

He replied, "I'm Scott." then smiled a friendly smile.

Stiles leaned in and said in a very prideful tone, "He's a true alpha."

Mae scoffed, "That's bull. The odds of that happening are one in a million or something." Mae looked at Derek who had an expression on his face that told her it was a truth. "Dude…just when I thought I had heard of everything." Mae was starting to think she was getting the idea of what she was really doing there, "Oh my god. You're trying to get me to join his pack aren't you?" She shot towards Derek accusingly.

"Would that be so bad?" He replied. "You would be a lot safer in his pack than yours."

Mae threw up her hands as she said "I can't believe this. I'm out of here before I get in even more trouble than I'm already in." Mae headed for the door too quickly and almost lost her footing from the pain that shot through her. She may be a faster than normal healer but they were still wounds inflicted by an alpha.

Derek caught her before she fell and picked her up in his arms. "You aren't going anywhere."

Mae took a breath of reluctant defeat as Derek set her down on the couch. "Please Mae, just listen." Derek practically pleaded.

Mae was being her defiant little self but replied with, "Fine." through mildly gritted teeth.

Derek looked relieved for a moment then sat on the arm of the couch as Scott tried to make his case and convince Mae to leave her pack.

—-

About an hour later and a back and forth debate between Mae and Derek, Scott, and Stiles later they were pretty much right where they were when they started out. Mae wasn't going to leave her pack not because she liked it with them in the least but because of her parents and Ty. They were way more loyal to Damon than she so they'd never leave. Mae wasn't going to leave without them.

After she said this for what felt like the millionth time Stiles threw his hands up in the air and asked in general, "Why are we putting so much effort into this. I mean she obviously doesn't want our help."

Scott looked at Stiles, "You mean besides the fact that it's the right thing to do? Because Derek asked us."

Stiles turned to Derek, "Why is she so important to you anyway? She literally just got into town but there's obviously more to this. Spill it already."

Derek didn't say anything and just looked at Mae who said, "Not a word Derek. If Damon finds out…"

Stiles then came out with something snarky like, "What? Is she your teenage love child or something?" This made Mae and Derek both glare at Stiles at the same time and simultaneously reply with, "No!"

Stiles held up his hands and leaned back into his seat. He was on the verge of giving up.

Scott looked at Derek and Stiles, "Could I talk to Mae alone for a minute?"

Stiles sighed and got up, Derek followed suit after Mae practically shoved him off the arm of the couch. Once they were out of immediate ear shot, Scott leaned forward a bit. "Mae, look. I don't know you, I get that. I also know that I don't have the right to ask you to consider this pack change but I'm going to. If not for you then for Derek. He obviously cares about you, like a lot. If the feeling is mutual then just consider it at least, alright? I may be on the newer side to the whole running of a pack thing but what your alpha is doing to you is not right. Okay?"

Mae listened to Scott and thought it over. "I will…think about it. No promises, no guarantees, nada. Got it?" she mainly said it to get Scott off her case but then she realized at least a part of her was serious with her words.

Scott nodded, "I'll take that." and felt glad that he made a little progress with her.

Mae carefully crossed her arms, "All right then."

—

While Scott was talking to Mae, Stiles was going to ask his question to Derek that he had been cut off from doing so earlier, "What did Lydia mean by how is she not dead?"

Derek didn't look at Stiles nor did he answer.

"Are you seriously going to keep every important detail about this girl to yourself?" Stiles asked in a frustrated 'unbelievable' tone.

Derek knew Peter told Stiles about Paige, so if Derek did tell Stiles that was a whole chapter that he wouldn't have repeat. He knew Stiles wouldn't let it go and would go digging to find out. That was most likely going to cause more harm than good so, Derek made the decision to tell him. Even though Mae would be ticked at him for doing so. "Mae is…Paige's reincarnation, doppelganger, whatever the freaking term is."

Stiles looked shocked to hear Derek give an explanation and it took him a second to put two and two together. When Stiles did make the connection, he looked even more shocked, "Paige? Whoa! Hold up, you mean…Paige, Paige? Your Paige?"

Derek just nodded in reply and gave a brief explanation as to what Deaton told him, "Deaton said because Paige died at the Nemeton, she was reborn as a reward for her sacrifice."

Stiles had a look of 'holy crap' look on his face as he looked over at Mae, "No wonder you're acting so adamant about this." Things were starting to make more sense to Stiles now.

Derek looked at Stiles with a 'you think?' look on his face.

Stiles felt like a jerk now but asked, "If Scott doesn't convince her to switch packs, then what?"

Derek honestly didn't know how to answer that without starting a pack war that they did not need on their hands.

—

Derek didn't want Mae going back to that house but she didn't have a choice. It would be worse for her if she waited.

"Can't you tell them you're sleeping over at a friends house?" Stiles suggested lamely.

That gave Scott an idea, "That could actually become the truth. I could invite everyone over to my house to stay the night. It'd give you the chance to meet everyone and give Stiles the chance to get everyone to watch Star Wars."

Stiles had a 'yes!' look on his face but Mae wasn't too sure. "I don't think that's a good idea. Damon was ticked enough by me talking to Derek. I can just imagine what he'd do if he found out that I was sleeping over at an alpha's house with their pack." She replied.

Stiles retorted with, "You could always leave that part out. Not everyone who's going to be there is a wolf. There's a kitsune, a coyote, human, banshee…I think that covers it."

Mae blinked her eyes a couple times as she absorbed this information, "Okay..I don't know if that's going to make things better or worse." especially since she didn't know kitsunes existed outside of that Naruto show or whatever it was called and she thought banshees were just folklore. Then again she was a reincarnate werewolf so anything was possible.

Stiles sighed and Scott suggested, "Just try it. If anything it'd give you more time to heal and just hang out." Scott was honestly starting to feel like he was talking to a brick wall but he wasn't going to give up.

Mae pondered for a moment, "Fine, I'll try." On that note Mae pulled out her cell phone to call home. Calling instead of going back there was safer on her end but it was going to cost her when she went back. This was something Mae knew and yet did it anyway.

Derek was glad to hear that she was willing to try to get permission but would feel even better once she was away from her pack for good. Derek lost Paige once, he wasn't going to lose her again. No matter what form she may be in.

(End Chapter 5)


	7. Chapter 6

After a lot of convincing and a few promises (that odds were Mae wouldn't keep) later, she was given permission to spend the night at her friend's house. Well she told them it was a friend's house anyway. That was the closest to the truth lie that she could come up with at the time. Mae was still pretty shocked that she was given permission in the first place. Damon must have seen the value in her argument that not acting like a normal teenager would arouse suspicions that they didn't need. He even went as far to tell her that there wouldn't be any reprecussions from calling for permission instead of asking in person like she was supposed to. Mae thought something was up about that but didn't question it. Questioning it would just make things worse.

Stiles gave Mae a ride back to her house but parked far enough away so his vehicle wouldn't be seen, per the request of Mae. "If you aren't out in ten minutes I'm coming in to get you." Stiles told her as she got out of the Jeep and Mae saluted in reply.

Mae headed inside the house to find Ty sitting on the bottom of the stairs waiting for her. "Move it." Mae said in a 'not in the mood for you right now' tone. Talking to him was one of the last things that she wanted to do.

Ty stood up but he didn't move, "Mae please listen to me…"

He was cut off by Mae baring her fangs at him. "I am never going to listen to you again! I trusted you!"

Ty knew that and he regretted betraying her like that but he had to do it, "Mae, it would have been much worse if I didn't tell him. You know that. It wouldn't have just been you either that would have been punished, but me too."

Mae scoffed, "So you betrayed me to save your own fur. Nice Ty. Really nice to see where your loyalties lie."

Ty looked at her like she was crazy, "You've always known where my loyalties lie first Mae. He's my alpha, he's _our_ alpha. Nothing about us is going to change that."

Mae didn't say anything else to Ty except for, "Get out of my way before I punch you." her fangs were present, her eyes were golden, and her fists were clenched. Mae was serious with her threat.

Ty was going to give up trying to convince her, for now, and stepped aside so Mae could go upstairs and get her things. After packing her bag she came downstairs to find her parents waiting for her near the door. There was a look of disappointment on their faces, like they were ashamed of her, of her actions. Mae went over to them and didn't say a word, their faces said it all. Mae's father opened the door for her and didn't look at her as she left.

Mae got to Stiles' Jeep and tossed her bag into the back. "Ready?" He asked as Mae got in the passenger side, "Yeah." was her relply.

Stiles waited a moment before starting the car so he could ask, "You alright Mae?"

Mae glared at him a little, "Why do you care? I mean it's not like I want your help anyway, right?"

Stiles let out a sigh, "I deserve that."

Mae just nodded in a 'no, really?' sort of way and said, "And more. Next time don't jump the gun before you have all the facts."

Stiles found that ironic since he usually was the one that worked out getting all the facts, "I'll keep that in mind." On that note Stiles started up the car and drove to Scott's house.

—-

Stiles got Mae's bag from the back of the car and carried it inside for her. Mae followed Stiles in and was surprised to see how many people were there. Scott was sitting next to an Asian girl on the couch, there was a young boy in some sort of sport's jersey, Lydia of course, a woman that she was guessing to be Scott's mom talking to Derek, and a blonde girl who came over to Stiles and wrapped her arm around him possessively. "Don't get any ideas. He's with me."

Stiles sighed, "Malia, the proper greeting would be 'Hi, I'm Malia. Nice to meet you'."

Malia rolled her eyes and was about to speak when Mae cut her off, "I got the gist." She took her bag from Stiles and set it off to the side as Stiles seemed to try to explain proper friend etiquette to Malia. From the sounds of it, it really didn't sound like it was the first time.

Scott got up from the couch and went over to Mae. "Hey, let me introduce you to everyone." Scott proceeded to introduce Mae to Kira and Liam, since she had already met Malia at the door, and then his mom. Mae just said a brief hello to everyone and put her hands in her back pockets, "So, are we going to watch a movie or what?" Mae asked since she was starting to feel uncomfortable. It was weird for her to be around so many teenagers, especially those of the supernatural variety. Damon was very…possessive of his pack. He liked keeping them as close as possible. This was going to take a little bit of getting used to.

Scott gestured to Stiles to get the movie ready when Scott's mom informed them that she was heading to work and to behave. Derek was heading out too when Mae stopped him, "You're leaving?" She asked.

Derek looked around before looking back to Mae, "This isn't my scene. You have fun, okay?" He gave Mae a kiss on the cheek and headed for the door.

Mae grabbed his wrist which made him turn around, "Please don't go. As much fun as this may be…I just…I just don't want you to go. Okay?"

The way Mae looked at him made him think of Paige even more than he had since first seeing her. He couldn't bring himself to say no and replied, "Okay."

Mae smiled after he said that and pulled him over to sit next to her on the couch.

The one named Kira came out of the kitchen with the young one Liam, both of them carrying big bowls of popcorn. Scott seemed to be in charge of the drinks. It was amusing watching him practically juggle the cans of soda he was bringing in but Lydia helped him out before he dropped any of them.

Once everything was set on the coffee table Stiles enthusiastically announced, "And now for our viewing pleasure…Star Wars! Since some of our present company has never seen it before." Stiles eyed a couple people among the group then sat down on the floor next to Malia.

Mae had a little grin on her face as an idea came to her mind to mess with Stiles a bit, "Star Wars? Okay now this is the one with Captain Kirk right?" Mae smiled wide at the groan that came from Stiles in reply.

Stiles then said, "You know I could go into a lecture about how awesome Star Wars is and how it's NOTHING like Star Trek, but I'm not going to because the movie is about to begin. So just sit back and let yourselves be educated."

Mae gave Stiles the Vulcan Live Long and Prosper hand gesture and said, "Aye, aye captain." That made Stiles look at her with narrowed eyes before turning back to face the TV. Mae had seen all the Star Wars films but she couldn't resist messing with him.

Derek could tell what Mae was doing and chuckled at her. She looked at Derek with an innocent 'what?' look on her face before laughing and grabbing some popcorn before passing it along. Sitting there with Derek and everyone else made Mae feel something that she had never really felt before; like she belonged.

—–

Mae didn't realize how tired she was because she didn't even make through half of the first movie before she fell asleep with her head on Derek's shoulder. Since 'the guest of honor' had fallen asleep Lydia took that as her cue to leave.

"I still want that explanation Derek." Lydia said to him as she looked at the sleeping Mae. Being around her sent shivers down in her spine and while part of her felt like she understood it the other part of her really didn't like it. It felt wrong to her, the fact that Mae was alive felt wrong to Lydia. There was enough on their plates for the moment so she'd wait for the info. Lydia wasn't going to wait too long though, she had her own ways of finding out information.

Derek didn't say anything to Lydia after she said that and neither confirmed nor denied that he'd give it to her. After Stiles tried to convince Lydia to stay and watch the rest of the movies with them, she finally made it out the door with Kira not too far behind since Lydia was her ride and it was getting late. Scott's plans for a pack sleepover wasn't quite going as planned but he'd make due with who stayed behind to try to convince Mae to leave her pack. Scott made a promise to Derek to try, so he would.

Derek didn't move a muscle the whole time Mae slept with her head on his shoulder. Eventually he fell asleep as well. Mae was dreaming about an event in Paige's life; she was walking down a hallway with a note in her hand. It looked like a note anyway. Mae could feel in the dream that something wasn't right but she couldn't change anything. She couldn't make Paige move away. At the end of the hall a large man appeared and his eyes glowed red. Paige tried to run away but the alpha ran after her. Just as the alpha was about to catch up, Mae awoke with a slight jolt. Now that was a dream she hadn't had before.

Mae looked at a sleeping Derek and carefully moved away from him so she could get up. Stiles and Malia were sleeping on the floor, which made Mae almost burst out laughing because Stiles was the little spoon. Scott was nowhere to be seen so she assumed that he was probably in his own room sleeping. The little wolf, Liam, wasn't in the room so she figured he probably went home along with Lydia and Kira since they weren't there either.

Once all this assumed information was taken in, Mae got off the couch and went into the kitchen. One of her assumptions was wrong when she found Liam sitting on the kitchen counter eating some ice cream out of the carton.

"That's hardly sanitary." Mae said to him in a playful, scolding tone when he was mid bite. She thought it was cute that he looked like a deer caught in the headlights in that moment. Mae then grabbed a spoon from the strainer and got on the counter next to him and took a spoonful for herself. "Oh well, not like some germs are going to kill us." She smiled and took the bite of ice cream.

Liam smiled as well and finished taking his. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked between bites.

"Weird dream." Mae replied with a mouthful of ice cream.

Liam nodded in understanding, "Same." Granted his were more nightmares than weird dreams but whatever.

"Born or bitten?" Mae then asked randomly yet curiously. The question seemed to confuse him, "What?" he asked. Mae scooped another bite, "Were you born a werewolf or bitten?" She replied, clarifying.

Liam felt stupid for not realizing that was what she was asking, "Scott bit me. You?" he answered then asked. He didn't feel weird for asking her since she had just asked him the same thing.

Mae found herself laughing at that question, "If you asked me that two days ago I would have said born, but now I think that question has a way more complicated answer attached to it."

Liam looked at Mae curiously, "Complicated isn't always a bad thing it's just…complicated." Man Liam really needed to get some sleep because even he didn't think he was making any sense. This made him laugh and Mae laugh along with him.

Meanwhile Derek had awoken and was standing outside of the kitchen, pretty much eavesdropping on Liam and Mae. Was this juvenile? Yeah, even Derek thought that but he had his reasons. Didn't he?

"So, what's your pack like?" Liam asked, which made Mae groan, "Did they make you ask me that?" she asked in reply. Liam looked confused again, "Uh, no. Just asking."

Mae shrugged at this information and took another bite of ice cream, "A lot different than this one I can tell you that. My alpha…is a…well he's a possessive whack job that I swear only keeps his betas because of some weird Stockholm syndrome like effect on them."

Liam's eyes widened, "And you're still with that guy's pack because?" he had a bit of a drawn out emphasis on the word 'becasue'.

Mae wiped some ice cream off her lip with her thumb, which Liam stared a little too long at, before she replied, "Because of my parents, but I'm starting to think they wouldn't even care. Then there's Ty, before you ask no he's not my boyfriend. More like my brother but I've recently learned that he'll side with our alpha over me no matter what."

Liam tapped his spoon on the ice cream carton a couple times and asked again, "And you're still with that guy's pack because?" His repeated question made Mae laugh in an 'I can't believe it' way, "You know, I'm starting to wonder myself." she admitted.

Derek was starting to give Liam a bit more credit now. Not only was he the main part in saving Scott from being a berserker, he was able to convince Mae that staying in her pack probably wasn't the best idea. Derek found himself a little jealous of the kid for being able to achieve something that he wasn't able to. This feeling did not sit with Derek well and while he was giving Liam credit where it was due, he was really starting to not want Liam and Mae getting too close to each other. Jeeze, he was starting to feel like a scheming, jealous, teenager. Derek decided to head back to the couch before he got caught in the act of eavesdropping by anyone.

Mae and Liam finished up the carton of ice cream then decided to try to get some sleep. They quietly went back into the living room and everyone was where they were when Mae went into the kitchen. Except for Derek, he looked like he'd stirred around or something after she got up. Liam climbed back into his sleeping bag on the floor while Mae grabbed a blanket and went back on the couch. She knew she should have slept on the other end of it but went ahead and did what she wanted anyway. Mae laid her head on Derek's leg like he was her own personal pillow and snuggled into the blanket. Because she was facing away, and her eyes on the verge of closing, she didn't see the little smile on Derek's face. Liam couldn't see it either but he could see how Mae was getting comfortable to get to sleep and he was starting to think that he didn't have a chance in the world with her.

—–

Mae had dreamt the same dream over again and was jolted awake at the same time during it. At least this time when she did wake up, it was at a more appropriate hour. "You okay?" She heard a voice ask from across the room.

Liam was rolling up his sleeping bag and was the one that asked. Mae realized that she wasn't sleeping on Derek anymore, but a pillow. He wasn't anywhere in sight for that matter. Mae rubbed her eye a little nodded nodded as she sat up to answer Liam's question, "Yeah, I'm alright." Seeing that Malia and Stiles weren't asleep on the floor she asked, "They leave already?"

Liam shook his head, "Nope, they're in the kitchen. I think Stiles is trying to teach Malia how to make eggs or something." Based off the smells coming from the kitchen they didn't seem to be succeeding. "I foresee donuts and coffee in the near future." Mae said with a laugh.

Liam's nose scrunched up a bit at the smell and replied, "I'm with you on that one." they both chuckled a bit after that.

As if on cue Derek and Scott came through the front door with donuts and coffee. "My saviors!" Mae cried out in glee, "How did you know?"

Derek handed Mae the bag that he was biting onto since his hands were full then answered, "Stiles and Malia in the kitchen? Do you have to even ask?"

Mae laughed and climbed off the back of the couch and followed Derek into the kitchen.

Liam hung back for a minute to watch her and Scott noticed this, "Are you crushing on her?" Scott asked Liam a little teasingly.

Liam felt like he was blushing but didn't even know if werewolves could blush or not, "What? No!" He replied too quickly and defensively.

Scott just said, "Uh huh." And handed Liam one of the trays of coffee to carry.

Liam had an 'oh, shut up' look on his face directed towards Scott as he took the coffee and went into the kitchen.

—-

Mae couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this much, truly laughed. That Saturday morning had to be one of the best she'd ever had. Mae could see that this pack wasn't just that, but a family. She never thought that there was an alpha out there like Scott who actually cared, really cared for his betas and even those who weren't his betas. It was the complete flip side of what her pack was like. Even though Mae hadn't said it aloud, or even really admitted it to herself, she had made her choice. Destiny or whatever supernatural hubbub that brought her here was obviously trying to give her a message. Mae wasn't going to be so quick to ignore it this time. No matter the consequenses that might come from it.

—–

A few hours later it was time for Mae to head back to her house. Stiles drove her again and parked far enough away once more. After Stiles parked the car he said, "You were just messing with me about the movie weren't you?"

Mae looked at him with a wide grin on her face.

"I knew it." He replied a bit dramatically.

Mae laughed, "I warned you I was going to get back at you."

Stiles had no argument with her there.

"Thanks for the ride. See ya spazz boy." Mae grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car, making her way to the house. She was so…happy really that she had completely forgotten the fact that she was an hour later than she told Damon she'd be home by.

Mae walked into the house and dropped her bag to the side. She turned around to head for the living room and was instantly greeted by a back hand. This caught Mae off guard and she staggered back a little.

Damon growled as he got closer to her. "You're late."

Mae shot back, "So what?! I came back didn't I?"

Damon took that differently than she had meant it, "Were you considering leaving?" He asked her with a growl to his tone as he grabbed Mae by her shirt and pulled her closer. "And where do you think you'd go pup? You're nothing without this pack."

Mae looked away from Damon until she heard him tell her that she was nothing without this pack. That made her eyes turn yellow as she slowly turned to stare her alpha down. "I am more than you'll ever know!" She shouted back at him.

Damon was not pleased and threw Mae into the wall. She cried out a bit on impact which made her parents and Ty come running downstairs. Damon's daughter was probably being the 'perfect little girl' and stayed up in her room.

Ty's first instinct was to rush to Mae's side but Damon's eyes turned red as he ordered Ty to stay put. "It's time for hear to learn." Damon spoke while in his full Alpha form.

Mae got herself to her feet and Damon took another swing at her. Mae defended herself but Damon was stronger than she was and threw her aside again with ease. He kicked her when she was down, "You need to learn your lesson pup!" Damon kept repeating as he kicked her. Damon picked up a beaten Mae and drew his claws. He was half tempted to kill his beta right then and there but was pulled from these thoughts when a knock came from the door. Damon looked at Ty silently telling him to go see who it was.

Ty was silently grateful for the distraction and opened the door to find the human that had brought her books by the previous day standing there.

"Hey! I'm Stiles, Mae around?" Stiles had gotten a call from Lydia. She was freaking out about Mae saying that she had already died but wasn't dead and was about to die again but couldn't let that happen, or something along those lines. It was one the clearest 'messages' Lydia had ever gotten about someone's death so she called Stiles to tell him. He was the first person that came to her mind to call and it was lucky she had because he was the closest one in proximity to Mae.

Ty blocked Stiles' view when he tried to look around the door. "Mae's busy. She'll call you later."

Stiles wasn't going to accept that, even though he knew he couldn't take on a wolf "Oh come on, I literally dropped her off less than five minutes ago. How busy could she have gotten within five minutes?"

Ty was not having any luck getting rid of Stiles so Damon was going to take a whack at it, literally if need be. "There a problem?" Damon asked, directed towards Stiles.

Stiles replied, "Nope, just looking for Mae." While Stiles was trying everything he could to either get inside or have them send Mae out, Mae had a different idea in mind. She was hurt as hell but she wasn't going to stick around and let history repeat itself with her death. Mae tried to get out the back door but she was blocked by her parents.

"You need to listen to your alpha." Her father said firmly as he mother tried to guide her back deeper in the house.

Mae could feel her faster than normal healing kick in double time. Her eyes were yellow as she looked at her father. With a firm tone of her own she said, "He has never been my alpha!" Mae headbutted her mother and elbowed her hard. Her father rushed towards her but he was never much of a fighter. Damon really only wanted him for his smarts anyway. Mae clawed her way past her father and out the back door.

By this time Damon had already thrown Stiles out and he was headed back to his jeep. Mae ran as fast as her still healing body could with her parents not too far behind. Stiles was just starting his jeep when Mae quickly got inside, "GO!" She screamed which startled him but with Mae's parents coming from one direction, Ty and Damon coming from another, he wasn't going to waste any time. Stiles put his car in gear and got the hell out of dodge.

—-

Stiles brought Mae to Derek's loft. He was still freaking out a bit, thinking that they had managed to follow them there. Mae was still sore but she was almost fully healed. Stiles was pacing back and forth in the loft when Mae filled Derek, Scott and Liam in. Stiles called Scott and told him to meet them at Derek's loft. Since Liam was with Scott at the time, he brought him along.

Mae was getting to the end of the what happened when Stiles chimed in as he bit his nails nervously, "Next time I am not being the getaway driver. Got it?!"

No one really replied to that since they were more focused on what had just happened to her. "How come you heal so fast?" Liam asked Mae since she looked even more healed then than when she got there earlier.

"I guess I was given a little something extra to make sure I'm kept around longer this time." Mae looked at Derek when she said this because she knew he'd know what she meant.

Derek looked like a volcano about to explode. He wanted to go over to that house and rip that pack to shreds. Damon especially. Scott could see this clearly, "Derek, you have got to try to stay calm."

Derek shook his head, "I'm going to kill them."

Scott sighed, "Why is killing still the first plan of attack? Can someone please explain that to me?"

Mae got up from the couch and went over to Derek, "No one is killing anyone, you hear me? I'm not going to let you get their blood on your hands. Besides, no offense Derek, but Damon is the strongest wolf I have ever seen. Even before he became an alpha he was a force to be reckoned with." Mae was not going to risk losing Derek, no matter how much she wanted Damon to pay. "But I can't control your actions, just like you can't control mine. So, if you're going then so am I."

Derek looked at Mae like she was crazy, a look she'd been getting a lot lately, "You're not going anywhere." He said to her, to which she replied, "Then you're not going anywhere either."

Derek was about to reply to that when Lydia showed up and looked exasperated. "Okay! I have tried being patient about this but I am soooo sick of it." She looked at Derek and Mae, "How are you not dead? I feel like you should be dead. I also feel like that you have to be kept alive. So will someone please tell what the heck the story is!" Lydia wasn't going to take any sort of answer but the one that she was looking for.

Derek and Mae looked at each other. Mae said with a sigh, "I guess it's story time."

Lydia threw up her hands, "Finally!" She then went over to the couch and crossed one leg over the other after taking a seat. "Well," She said, "I'm ready." Lydia's personality was going to take Mae some getting used to but at the moment she sucked it up and went over with Derek to tell Lydia and everyone else there the story.

—-

Once everything was explained, exactly how Paige died was left out again, Liam look like he was trying to wrap his mind around it. Scott looked like the past couple days had finally been explained in a way that made sense. Stiles wasn't really phased since he had already heard the story which bugged Mae, and Lydia…well Lydia looked like she was processing everything she heard. Lydia pouted out her lips in thought, "Interesting." Was all she said as she thought some more. "You technically have already died. So that feeling makes sense but now…I'm trying to figure out why you have to be kept alive this time."

Mae looked uncomfortable at that comment.

Liam then chimed in, "Extra fast werewolf healing power and a banshee who feels like you have to stay alive? I think you're right Mae. Something really wants to make sure you stick around this time."

Mae looked at Derek in question, hoping he'd have the answer. Unfortunately he had the same look of question on his face as she had on hers. "That's not comforting." Mae said to Derek after seeing the look on his face. Mae crossed her arms and slouched down a bit in her seat. Could things get any weirder for her in Beacon Hills? Mae didn't know, none of them did but she had a feeling that they were soon going to find out.

(End Chapter 6)


	8. Chapter 7

There was a question nagging at Liam that he wanted to ask but didn't feel like it was his place to. There must have been a questioning look present on his face as he looked at Mae because she practically yelled at him, "Spit it out already! You're freaking me out!"

Liam was startled slightly but replied, "Don't take this the wrong way but…how old are you? I mean Paige died when Derek was in high school right? That really wasn't too long ago, but you're what? Sixteen? That doesn't make any sense."

Stiles heard what Liam said and chimed in too, "He has a point there…"

Even Lydia was trying to make sense of it. Then it was like Scott, Derek, Stiles, Liam and Lydia all simultaneously looked at her like they were adding things up in their head or something. This was really creeping Mae out.

"Oh my god stop looking at me like that!" Mae got up from her seat and went over to the window. She couldn't stand looking at them right now if they were going to look at her like that. While looking out the window she said, "There's got to be some reason for it. I mean, I died…I mean Paige died at that Nemeton thing right? Between that and the fact that Paige was reborn? Yeah does any of this really make any sense?" Mae sounded like she was trying to reassure herself of that fact and not just them. She looked at her reflection in the window as her mind tried to make sense of it herself.

Derek could see how this was affecting Mae and whether or not the timeline made sense, he didn't care. Mae was Paige's reincarnate or whatever and that was all that mattered to him. "That doesn't matter right now." He finally said, "Damon and his pack are the problem at hand."

Scott nodded in agreement, "Derek's right. We can figure out Mae's situation later. We have to prepare for some sort of retaliation from Damon's pack. Stiles, can you call Malia and have her meet us at my house? I'll pick up Kira then head over. We need to get everyone up to speed."

Lydia got up from her seat and said, "I'll fill Parrish in as well, just in case he could be of help. I'll also check the bestiary to see if there's anything in there that might help explain, well, her." Lydia gestured to Mae who completely ignored her.

Scott replied, "Good idea." the more help on their side the better. At least that was his thought at the moment.

Stiles got off the phone with Malia and said, "I managed to get Malia on board, I'm going to go pick her up now."

Scott nodded, "Okay, Liam you can sit this out if you want to." he knew how...uneasy Liam was to the whole pack situations so he didn't want to force Liam into anything that he didn't want to do.

Liam shook his head, "Not this time. I want to help." he looked over at Mae after replying to Scott.

Scott looked proud to hear him say that then looked at Derek, but didn't have to say anything because Derek said, "Mae's staying here. I'll keep an eye on her." Scott accepted that and everyone but Derek and Mae left the loft.

Once they were all gone, Derek went over to Mae who was still standing by the window. He didn't say anything and just wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Liam's right. How old I am doesn't make any sense. If I was born right after she died then wouldn't I be only, eight or something? I don't get it." Mae looked up at Derek who looked at her with a comforting look on his face.

"We'll figure it out. No matter what the reason is, it's not going to change anything. You're still Mae." Derek answered, trying to make her feel better.

Mae sighed softly, "And Paige." She added in.

Derek pulled her close and kissed the top of her head when Mae wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "No matter what, nothing will change how I feel about you."

Mae felt so comforted to hear those words but she couldn't help but wonder if he meant her, herself or her because of Paige. It didn't matter to her she realized because there seemed to be more of Paige in her than she thought because in that moment, Mae realized that she was feeling as strongly for Derek as Paige had. The additional weirdness was already starting but Mae kinda like this part.

—–

Back at Damon's house, Damon was tearing the place apart in anger. Mae was an key figure that he needed in order to achieve his goal. Mae's parents, Vanessa and Theo, entered the latest room that Damon was tearing apart.

Vanessa was the first to speak, "Damon, all is not lost. She will return to us."

Damon growled at Mae's mother which made her looked down in submissiveness. "Oh I know she will return. Even if I have to drag that girl back here myself!" He yelled then punched the wall, sending his fist straight through to the other side.

"If I may, Damon." Theo began, "I have an idea that might get Mae back without causing any problems for us."

This caught Damon's attention, "Explain."

Theo did as he was ordered, "An iron fist, while a working tactic for you in the past has made Mae run. What if we tried a softer touch? Finesse Mae's return to us."

Damon did not understand where Theo was going with this, "And how do you suggest we do that?"

Theo continued, "Ty. Explain the situation to Ty, how important it is for this pack for Mae to return. He is more connected to her than we are, he will be able to get Mae to come back."

Damon thought about Theo's suggestion, "Before the blood moon rises?"

Theo nodded, "I believe Ty is up for the task, yes. He has already shown that his loyalties lie to you before all others, even Mae."

Damon crossed his arms as a smug look moved over his face, "TY!" He bellowed out for Ty to join them, "I always knew there was a reason why I kept you around." he said to Theo with a smirk.

Theo bowed his head in thanks and when Ty entered Vanessa and Theo left the room. "Damon?" Ty asked, not sure why he was ordered in the room but had a feeling he was about to be punished for something. Surprise moved over his face when he heard Damon say, "Pick up a chair and take a seat. I have a job for you."

—

Meanwhile at Scott's house:

After Scott filled Malia and Kira in on everything he knew involving Mae, Malia looked unimpressed, "So we're risking our necks for someone who's been already dead? Isn't that kinda mute?"

Stiles corrected her grammar, "Moot, not mute. And that doesn't matter. Mae's a part of Scott's pack now which makes her our friend and what do we do for friends?"

Malia rolled her eyes, "Help them, I know." Even though she knew it, she really didn't see the point of helping her.

Kira looked at Scott as she spoke, "My mom might know about the whole reincarnation thing. She's pretty in tune with all things Nemeton."

Scott thought Kira had a point, "That's a good idea. We should definitely check with her, and Deaton too. Derek said Deaton was the one that gave a brief explanation about what Mae was."

Liam looked like he was staring off into space, but he was just thinking. "Her age still doesn't make any sense." He muttered, it was something that he couldn't shake. It wasn't right and he felt like it was something that should be focused on.

"It's another piece of the puzzle that has to be solved." Scott said to Liam.

Malia added in, "It's a red piece for sure." Meaning that they had no clue what the answer to that was yet. The others looked at her, confused, but Stiles knew what she meant.

"Has Lydia called with anything yet?" Stiles asked in general.

Scott shook his head. "Not yet, but she's still researching."

Kira then asked, "If Damon's pack does retaliate then what's the plan? From what we've heard, he doesn't sound like the kind of guy that'll go down any other way than being put down." A look of surprise to hear her say that was simultaneously in the room, "What?" Kira said in reply, "I'm just saying."

Scott said once again, "No killing. There's another way, we just have to find it. Which is why Kira and I should go talk to her mom. Stiles? Can you and Malia go talk to Deaton?"

Stiles nodded in reply, "Sure." he looked at Malia to ensure she would come too and with an eye roll she followed Stiles.

Liam looked at Scott and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Scott thought for a moment and said, "Go back to Derek's loft and help him keep an eye on Mae. If Damon manages to track her there then Derek's going to need some backup."

Liam was a bit too eager to accept that job, mainly because he wanted to see Mae again, "I'm on it."

Stiles noted the enthusiasm, "We'll drop him off."

The group seemed to have a plan all set, even if it was just the start of one at that. Scott looked at everyone and said, "Alright, let's get going. If you guys find anything call." That was the agreement before they all headed out.

—

Mae kept pacing around the loft while humming a tune that was stuck in her head. She wished she could play her cello right then but that was nowhere near possible so the humming and pacing would have to do.

Derek was sitting on the couch, watching her while listening to the familiar tune she was humming.

"What are you staring at?" Mae asked a bit sharply. She didn't particularly like being stared at.

Derek replied, "I'm not staring, I'm listening. Why? Am I distracting you?" This conversation brought back a memory for Derek that made him smile.

Mae continued to pace and hum between sentences when she said, "Nope, I have laser like focus." She then stopped pacing and looked at Derek, "Does this feel like dejavu to you too?"

Derek wouldn't quite call it that, "In a way. Paige and I had a similar conversation before."

Mae had an 'ah, that explains it' look on her face before she returned to humming. A flash of that memory came to her mind and she stopped pacing again. "You kissed her after that focus comment right? Or something?" Mae rubbed her ear as the memory became more vivid because she felt like a phantom touch from the memory.

Derek watched Mae as she seemed to remember more of Paige's life. "That's right, I did do…something." He smiled a little when Mae rubbed her ear. It was a little sad at the same time, something Mae caught a whiff of.

"Sorry, I shouldn't talk about her." she said last thing Mae wanted to do was drum up painful memories for Derek. Even though she realized that was probably unavoidable since she looked just like her.

Derek got up from the couch and went over to Mae, "You don't have to apologize for that. Paige is a part of you, there's no changing that, so don't hide that part of yourself. Especially from me."

Mae's eyes looked into Derek's and she felt her heart beat quicken. Derek knew he shouldn't be doing what he was but that wasn't stopping him. He started to lean down closer to Mae and just when their lips were about to meet the loft door opened. The sound caused Derek and Mae to back away from each other quickly. Since the two were so enthralled in each other neither of them sensed someone coming.

Liam opened the loft door and was carrying some Chinese take out bags. "Anyone hungry?" He asked, completely unaware of that fact that Derek wanted to rip his head off for interrupting them.

Mae cleared her throat and found herself smiling at the sight of Liam, "Starving." She looked at Derek for a moment then went over to Liam to help with the food.

—-

Awkwardness hung in the air as Liam, Mae, and Derek ate their take out. Hardly a word was spoken since Liam's arrival. Liam was awkward because he was crushing on Mae and didn't want to make a fool of himself or something. Mae and Derek were awkward because of their almost kiss that Liam almost walked in on.

Finally Mae got tired of the silence and broke it, "So you drew the short straw to have to help baby sit?" She asked directed to Liam.

Liam's brow furrowed in confusion, "Uh no. Scott asked me to come so I did."

Derek chimed in, "Why?" He asked.

Mae looked at Derek in question as to why he'd ask that question.

Liam faced Derek, "If Damon shows up you're going to need some backup." he answered. Even though that was definitely not the only reason why Liam wanted to be there.

Derek scoffed at this, "I can protect Mae just fine." he replied.

Mae crossed her arms and glared at both Derek and Liam, "Does anyone care to know that I can protect myself just fine? Yes? Good, now if you guys can stop talking like I'm not in the room, we can move on."

Derek tried to say something and Mae snapped her hand to cut him off and did the same when Liam also tried to speak. "Unless either of you have something productive to say, keep it to yourself. And no grumbling about it, I'm so not in the mood to deal with grumbling werewolves today." Mae then looked between Derek and Liam, "Got it?" Derek and Liam didn't really respond and just went about eating their food. "Good." Mae said in a tone that ceased that topic and continued to eat.

A couple minutes later Liam did say something on the productive side. He looked at Derek and said, "On the way here, Stiles mentioned that you should check in with your girlfriend and see if there's anything she can do to help."

Mae looked at Derek with wide eyes at the mention of a girlfriend, "You have a girlfriend?"

Derek wanted to strangle Liam in that moment but he refrained from doing so and said, "Braden is not my girlfriend."

Liam replied, "You sure about that? She sure seemed like your girlfriend to me." He wasn't trying to start anything, not really, he was just...talking.

Mae raised her brow and looked at Derek with a 'you have some explaining to do mister' look on her face.

Derek saw the look and said, "Well she's not. She's just a friend and I doubt that she'll be much help since she's out on an assignment. I couldn't get in touch with her even if I wanted to." The last thing Derek wanted to do was bring Braden into this mix. He didn't technically lie about Braden not being his girlfriend because he didn't consider her as one. It was...complicated.

Mae cracked open a fortune cookie as she asked, "What does Braden do?" It was an innocent enough question with a not so innocent reason behind it.

Derek didn't want to talk any more about Braeden, but replied, "She's a bounty hunter."

Mae asked another question, "And how…" she was cut off by Derek who said, "Did we meet? That's a long story."

Mae didn't seem too pleased with that answer but tried to hide it by focusing on her lame fortune in hand. Liam noticed the exchange between Mae and Derek and felt like he had brought up something he probably shouldn't have. Then again maybe it was a good thing because if Mae was peeved at Derek for something then it might give him a little leeway to get to know her better. The thought brought a little grin to his face but quickly wiped it away when Derek suddenly started to glare at him.

The awkwardness was starting to fill the air again, which Mae noticed right off and didn't like it. So she said, "So, how about them Yankees? They're Quidditch right?" Her lame joke got a chuckle from both Derek and Liam which made Mae smile in pride. Now that the awkwardness had subsided, Mae's mind went back to worrying as to whether or not Damon and his pack would burst through the door at any moment.

—–

Meanwhile at the Animal Clinic:

Malia and Stiles were in the back with Deaton asking their questions about Mae and the Nemeton. Deaton told them the same things that he told Derek before. "Yeah, we got all that from Derek." Stiles interjected, "But we really need to know whatever it is that you're not telling us."

Deaton was going through a file in his hand as he spoke, "Now what makes you think I'm holding something back?"

Malia replied, "Uh, because you're one shady dude." Stiles looked at her in a scolding manner and Malia said to Stiles, "Oh don't give me that look. I don't like that look. Besides has this guy ever been completely straightforward with you guys about anything?"

Stiles thought for a moment which made Deaton shake his head with a chuckle, "I understand that you are confused about what's going on, but Paige's reincarnate is just a child. She can't cause any harm."

Stiles and Malia both looked at Deaton strangely, then Stiles said, "Uhh…Mae isn't a child. She's like sixteen."

Deaton's expression changed completely. "Excuse me?" He asked.

Malia spoke this time, "Yeah she's definitely not a little kid."

Deaton closed the folder and set it on the table behind him. "I wasn't aware of this before…now this…this changes everything."

Stiles and Malia looked at each other in an 'oh this isn't good' sort of way…

—–

Meanwhile at Kira's house:

"Mom, you seriously don't know anything about Nemeton reincarnates?" Kira asked as her mother poured some tea for her and Scott.

"All I have ever heard were legends that not even my ancestors believed to be true. I am sorry but I do not believe I am able to help you with this. Are you certain she is a reincarnation of this Paige girl?"

Scott nodded and took a sip of the tea, even though he didn't like it. He was being polite. "Absolutely," He replied, "Derek confirmed it and Mae even gets flashes and dreams about Paige's life."

Kira's mom took in this information, "She is a wolf, you said?" Scott and Kira both nodded in reply. "But she was human when she died? From a rejected werewolf bite?" She asked, to which Scott and Kira nodded their heads in confirmation again. Kira's mom had a 'hmm' look on her face as she sipped at her tea. "That is quite interesting. I might have to revisit some of the old legends. If this girl is, as you called it, a Nemeton reincarnate then there could be more to her than just being a replica of that young girl."

Scott and Kira looked at each other in slight worry. They were getting more pieces to this puzzle only to find that the puzzle was getting bigger each time.

—-

Meanwhile at Damon's House:

Damon had told Ty the plan on how to get Mae back to the pack. "I get that I have to get Mae back here, but how exactly do you intend I do that? If I lie to her then she'll know." Ty asked in uncertainty.

Damon replied, "Do whatever you have to do. Make your lies true if you have to. Mae must return to the pack before the Blood Moon rises or everything I have worked so hard to build will be ruined."

Ty was starting to get the hint that there was more to Damon wanting Mae back in the pack than just the added boost for having her as a beta. "What is so special about the blood moon?" Ty questioned, wanting to...needing to know everything.

Ty's question angered Damon and made him back hand Ty across the face, "Do not question me! Now do as I say!"

Ty lowered his head submissively, "Yes sir." Ty got up from his seat and went up to Mae's room to get her cello case and music. Her cello was her most prized possession, if he was going to get close to her again to put Damon's plan in motion, that instrument was going to be his way in.

(End Chapter 7)


	9. Chapter 8

"Scott we have to meet up like right now!" Stiles was speaking quickly into his cell phone as he rushed to his Jeep with Malia right behind him. "You hear me? Right now! We'll meet you at the loft." Stiles ended his message just as he closed his door.

Malia had a processing look on her face, "Did he seriously say what I think I heard him say?" she asked as she looked at Stiles.

Stiles looked at Malia as he started the engine, "You mean that she could be the key to unlocking an evil that puts everything else we've been through to shame? Then yeah, you heard right."

Malia slouched down in her seat a bit as she said, "Oh boy."

Stiles had a brief 'ya think?' look on his face before he backed his car up and pulled onto the road, rushing to Derek's loft.

* * *

Kira's mom gave Scott and Kira an old book of legends that held one that might answer some questions. Unfortunately the last couple pages of the legend are missing so the ending is unknown.

As Scott and Kira were leaving her house, Scott received the message from Stiles, "Seems like they found something. We have to head back to the loft."

Kira handed Scott the book and said, "You go, I'm going to go check in with Lydia and help my mom try to find the last pages, here."

Scott gave Kira a soft kiss then said, "Okay. I'll call you later."

Kira smiled and replied, "Alright."

Scott then secured the book on his bike and drove off for the loft. The message he got from Stiles sounded important enough for Scott to...bend a couple speed limits along the way.

Kira took a deep breathe and headed back inside, she had a bad feeling about this. The parts of the legend that were there weren't very comforting. Not knowing the rest wasn't helping either. She just hoped that they'd find the answers they needed before...well before it was too late.

* * *

After Mae, Liam, and Derek were done eating they went onto doing some research of their own. Mae was sitting on the circular staircase with Derek's laptop and did some various Internet searches to see if she could come up with anything. Liam was not too far away sitting on the table as he looked through one of the books Derek had given him to look through. And Derek, well he was supposed to be doing his own reading but he ended up spending more time looking at Mae than the book in hand.

Mae practically slammed the laptop cover shut in frustration, "This is useless!" she exclaimed.

Liam set the book down and went over to her, "Hey, we'll find something. Don't worry." he put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

Mae smiled a little bit then sighed, "The last time I didn't worry about what was going on I ended up dead. I mean, Paige…I mean..I don't know what I mean anymore!" Mae shook her head and reopened the laptop without saying another word.

Liam had a defeated look on his face as he went back over to look through his book some more. Even though there was zero help in it whatsoever. He just figured it'd be better to go back to that then keep failing at trying to make Mae feel better.

Suddenly the sounds of three sets of steps reached their ears. Mae and Liam got defensive, Derek just pointed out, "It's Scott and the others."

Mae focused her senses and came to the same conclusion so she relaxed a little. Emphasis on a little. She was stressing way out about everything that was going on and everything that seemed to be siwrling around inside her. It was complicated, confusing, and downright irritating.

Stiles opened the door and hurried inside with Scott and Malia. "You will never believe what Deaton told us." He said to the three that were already there and those words made Mae feel terrified.

They all gathered around the table as Stiles and Malia told them what Deaton said, "Deaton said that Mae shouldn't be a teenager. For what he thought happened to have actually happened she would have been a child."

Liam chimed in, in Mae's direction, "I knew your age didn't make any sense!" he felt proud for a moment for being right about that.

Stiles had a sarcastic 'bravo' look on his face then continued, "He doesn't think Mae is a…typical Nemeton reincarnate." Stiles turned his gaze to Mae's direction, like he hoped looking at her would give him some sort of answer or something.

Mae looked confused, "What does that even mean?" If she didn't get a straight answer some time soon then she would probably go out of her mind.

Malia replied, "It's means that your the key to unlocking some bad juju."

Mae looked even more confused and got a little defensive at that comment, "Excuse me?"

Scott spoke this time, "Deaton told Stiles and Malia about a legend that's pretty much the same one Kira's mom found in this book." He opened up the book and slid it towards Mae, "It talks about a sacrificial lamb who was sacrificed at a sleeping altar to awaken its power. When more sacrifices were given to the altar the first sacrificial lamb was brought back to the earth as a wolf. The wolf became the key to unlocking the altar's darkest power. Only the lamb who became a wolf can be sacrificed again to unlock it."

After Scott gave the gist of the legend, Stiles said, "Sound familiar?" he was looking at Derek this time when he spoke.

Mae looked at the book in front of her as Scott explains what the story is and shook her head as she slid it away, "That's crazy. For one thing, Paige died from rejecting a werewolf bite. She did not get sacrificed at some altar."

Stiles never took his eyes off Derek and Derek returned the look to Stiles before looking down. Mae caught onto these silent looks and was having none of it. She leaned forward on the table, "Who's not telling me what?"

Scott, Malia, and Liam didn't know how Paige really died. So far, neither did Mae. Derek didn't want to tell Mae because he was afraid that it would change things between them. And Stiles kept quiet because he was giving Derek the chance to tell her himself, but he would spill the beans if it came down to it.

The silence in the room made Mae start to lose her temper, "Someone tell me something!" Her eyes turned yellow as she spoke to emphasize how upset she was getting about this whole thing.

Stiles took that as his cue and started to speak but Derek cut him off by saying, "It's not your story to tell." Stiles respected that and gestured to him in a 'carry on' sort of way.

Mae looked at Derek with questioning eyes as he started to speak, "Paige was bitten by an alpha and while that was what was killing her, that's not how she died." Mae's questioning eyes turned into a full blown questioning expression as she waited for him to tell her more...tell her everything.

Scott looked at Stiles with a 'did you know about that?' look on his face and Stiles' face silently replied with 'yeah'.

Mae's posture straightened a little as she asked, "How did she die then?" It didn't seem like Derek was going to offer up this information willingly so she pushed it and would push it again even harder if she didn't get more information.

Derek couldn't look at her as he spoke and leaned forward on the table, looking out the windows in front of him. "I took Paige down to an old root cellar to be with her in her last moments. She was in so much pain, I couldn't stand seeing her like that. So, I took her pain away…I took everything away."

Mae didn't know what she was expecting to hear but she honestly wasn't expecting to hear that. Not really. She had shock on her face and pain filled eyes, "You…you killed her?" her voice seemed to be quaking as she spoke.

Derek nodded, "The root cellar turned out to be the Nemeton. So yes Stiles, that does sound familiar." Derek looked at Mae out of the corner of his eye but she couldn't stand to look at him at that moment. Without a word Mae went over to door leading out to the balcony. She couldn't be in that room any longer.

Derek wanted to go out there with Mae but he didn't, he couldn't. Derek would wait and give her time to process and talk to her later. Especially if she was something similar to what this legend was describing then he would have to keep her safe at any cost. "So you're saying that Deaton thinks Mae is this sacrificial lamb turned wolf? The key to unlocking this power?" Derek asked.

Stiles nodded, "Yeah. It makes sense." It was the only thing that seemed to make sense period at this moment.

Liam still didn't get something, "Not really though. I mean, Mae has memories of her life. All sixteen years of it. Wouldn't she only remember her time back on earth from the point she was, you know, brought back?"

Malia pointed at Liam and said, "Kid has a point there."

Stiles looked at Scott, "Anything in the legend to explain it?" his tone of voice practically screamed 'great, we solve one piece of the puzzle only to be presented with yet another by Liam here'.

Scott shook his head, "Not with what we have. The last couple pages are missing. Kira's helping her mom look for the rest of it."

Derek practically threw the book across the table. "Well that doesn't help anything." He moved away from the table, feeling very frustrated.

Liam looked out to the balcony at Mae then asked, "Does this mean we're back to where we started? Not having a clue?"

Scott looked at Liam, "No, it just means this puzzle is way bigger than we thought it was."

* * *

After a little while Liam headed out onto the balcony to check in on Mae. He had a jacket in hand, "Here. It's getting chilly." The stars were already starting to come out, she had been out there a lot longer than anyone thought she would be.

Mae reached out and took the jacket from him, "Thanks." she said with a mild smile as she started to slide her arms into the sleeves.

Liam shrugged, "Thank Derek, it's his." there was a bit of disdain in his voice as he said that. It was also like he was kicking himself for not having his own jacket with him to offer to her.

Mae's putting the jacket on process slowed a bit after hearing that but she finished putting it on anyway. Mae was mad as heck at Derek but that didn't mean she was going to let herself get cold because of it. She may have her pride or whatever, but she's not crazy. At least she didn't think she was...

"So…" Liam started since he was actually debating whether or not she would actually want to talk to him or anyone right then. Finally he decided that he would ask her so he asked, "You alright?"

Mae sighed, "Can we start with an easier question?" Such a normal question to ask someone was one of that last things that she wanted to answer. For starters, she didn't know how the hell she was feeling or which part of her inside was actually feeling it. Was it Mae? Was it Paige? Was it a blend of the two? Was she even Mae at all or was she all Paige with some twisted around life story? All of this was running through her mind so yeah, she was in no place to answer the simple question of 'you alright?'.

Liam didn't know what to really say to her now. There was a lot that he wanted to ask, there was a lot that he wanted to know about her too, but also he didn't want to upset her. Upsetting Mae was the last thing he wanted to do. Finally Liam asked what was on his mind and hoped she wouldn't hate him for asking. "Do you remember? What Derek said, do you remember it happening?"

Mae didn't really want to talk about it but she shook her head anyway, "No. It's like the memory stops right before the alpha bites me...bit her, whatever. Maybe my subconscious doesn't want me to remember because it'll hurt so much."

Liam didn't know how to help her so he asked lamely, "Want a hug?" He held out his arms just in case.

Mae laughed lightly, "Sure, why not." Mae got closer to Liam and hugged him as he hugged her. When Liam hugged Mae, he could feel her relaxing a bit as she hugged him back. It made him smile and even though he couldn't see it, she was smiling a little bit as well.

Derek was looking at them from across the loft. His hands were clenched at his sides. He knew he had no claim, or right, or anything and yet he couldn't help what he was feeling.

Stiles went over to Derek after noticing what he was looking at, "Don't turn into a sourwolf now." He said teasingly with a grin.

Derek glared at Stiles which made him back up a bit. As Stiles backed away he held up his hands and said, "Okay, okay, point taken."

Derek hated seeing Liam hugging Mae like that and was feeling territorial over her. It took every fiber of his being not to go out there and forcibly pull the two of them apart. Knowing that he had no right and feeling this way was tearing at him and he doubted it would ever stop.

* * *

By the time Liam and Mae came back inside after having a long conversation about anything and everything except for what was going on, it was getting pretty late. Scott had gotten off the phone with Lydia and Kira and gave everyone present the update. "Lydia says there's no metaphorical reference of a lamb turning into a wolf in the bestiary so that's a dead end. Kira and her mom haven't found the pages yet but are still looking. They're going to contact other people about it in the morning."

Mae took a breath, "So in other words there's nothing more we can do tonight?" she wasn't sure if she was more relieved about that or frustrated.

"Seems so." Scott replied even though it was clear that he wished that there was something they could do.

"Well at least we know one thing for certain." Mae said a bit snarkily before going over to Derek as she started to take off the jacket.

"Keep it." Derek said to Mae as he reached out to stop her from taking it off. Mae didn't want to and yet also did so she said, "Fine, but only because I'm cold." Derek was glad she kept it at least, even though now Liam's scent was all over it.

Scott went over to Mae, "You should come crash at my house. It's got a supernatural defense system in case Damon shows up."

Mae rubbed her arms a little before replying, "Okay." With everything else going on her mind she didn't need to worry about Damon too. She trusted Scott when he told her about the defense system so for at least that one night, she wouldn't have to worry about her safety. "I don't have any clothes with me though…" Mae stated to which Scott replied, "Don't worry about it. You can wear something of mine to sleep in tonight and we'll figure out the clothes in the morning." Mae nodded, accepting that answer.

"We'll meet up with you guys tomorrow. Call if anything happens." Stiles told them before he and Malia left the loft.

Liam then asked Scott, "What do you need to me do?" he was hoping that Scott would also invite him to crash at his house but he didn't want to be so...obvious about it. That and he didn't want to just up and invite himself.

Scott turned his attention to Liam, "Nothing for tonight. Go home and get some rest. Maybe work on that book report?"

Liam rolled his eyes a bit at that and that reminded Mae that she didn't even have her backpack with all her school stuff in it. Another thing to add to the list of things she needed to get from the house…somehow.

"Don't meant to rush but can we get out of here? I just want to get some sleep." Mae said to Scott before her eyes quickly darted to Derek. Still not being ready to be near Derek was a part of that too.

"Yeah, do you mind staying here while I bring Liam home though? Bike's not big enough for three." Mae was about to reply when Derek said, "I can take Liam home. You just keep Mae safe."

Scott looked at Liam for an objection which Liam didn't have. At least not really, he wanted Mae safe just as much as Derek did. Granted he would have rather gotten a ride from someone else but still.

Since Liam wasn't voicing any objection Dere said, "Okay, let's go."

Mae and Scott left the loft to head back to his house while Derek went to get his keys. Before Derek and Liam left the loft, Derek said to Liam, "Don't even think about doing anything to hurt Mae."

Liam could feel his temper coming to the surface as he said, "I could say the same to you but there's no point. You've already hurt her." The two had a bit of a stare down for a moment before they both left the loft for Derek to bring Liam home.

* * *

Even with Scott's supernatural security system in place Mae still couldn't get to sleep. It was almost 3AM when she looked at the clock and groaned inwardly. She couldn't stare up at that ceiling for another moment so she crept out of the bed in the guest room and downstairs.

When she got downstairs, Mae found Scott's mom, Melissa, in the kitchen. Looked like she was doing bills or something at the table. "Sorry," Mae said, "Didn't mean to disturb you."

Melissa set down the paper she was looking at and faced Mae, "Don't worry about it honey. You want something to eat? Drink?"

Mae shook her head in reply, "Not really, just had to do something since staring at the ceiling wasn't working for me anymore."

Melissa looked at her in an understanding way, "Well I'm just about done with this, so you want to play cards? A good game of solitaire usually does the trick for me."

Mae smiled at the suggestion and asked, "How about rummy?"

Melissa smiled, "Of course. The cards are in that drawer over there." She pointed to the drawer and Mae grabbed the deck while Melissa gathered up the papers she was looking over.

Mae took a seat at the table and began shuffling the cards. "I wanted to thank you for letting me stay the night and for setting up the security system."

Melissa smiled at Mae, "It's nothing, so don't worry about it. Okay?" She was starting to feel as protective over Mae as she did over all of Scott's friends.

Mae nodded a little as she started dealing out the cards for their game of rummy. As they played their game they talked a bit about what's going on and silly stuff too like the latest celebrity breakup and stuff like that. After a few games of rummy and a few more conversations, Mae was feeling tired.

She went into the living room and grabbed Derek's coat from the back of the couch where she placed it earlier. Mae said goodnight to Melissa and headed upstairs. Mae put the jacket on and climbed into bed as she took in Derek's scent from the coat. Not just Derek's scent but Liam's as well. She found them both very comforting to her, a pleasant blend of the past and the present. After pulling it closer around her she finally fell asleep. This time when she dreamed, her dreams were more like nightmares because she dreamed of exactly how Paige had died. They were definitely nightmares indeed.

* * *

The dream of Paige's death repeated itself over and over again like one horrible broken record. Mae tried to wake herself up from the dream but it didn't work. Each time she dreamt of Paige's death it was like she was seeing it, experiencing it differently. Sometimes she was watching as herself, another was from Derek's point of view, another was from Paige's and one was from the view of someone that she didn't even know was there when it happened. It was an endless rotations of points of view and it was driving Mae insane.

The insanity of her dreams must have been evident in her sleeping body because Scott had gone into her room to check on her because he heard her moving about so much. Scott sat on the bed and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down.

This jolted Mae awake and she reacted with her wolf side coming out and grabbing Scott by the throat. A second later when she realized who it was, she gasped and pulled her hand back as she turned back to normal. "Oh my god, Scott I'm so sorry." Mae said to him truthfully.

Scott was hardly phased by it, "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to kill me." That was a lame attempt to try to make Mae laugh, but it didn't work. "You alright?" He asked, "You were moving around a lot."

Mae sat up a bit more and ran her hand through her hair, "Kept dreaming of my, Paige's death on repeat. It wasn't pleasant."

Scott looked at Mae softly, "I'm sorry." his voice was truthful when he said those words.

She shrugged, "Not your fault. It's not like you were the one that killed me, her." Mae rubbed her forehead because she kept mixing up who she was talking about. It was getting on her nerves.

Scott took his opening to share his opinion, "He did that to spare her from any more suffering. I'm pretty sure that every good thing he has done since then has been to make up for that. You're angry with him, I so get that but don't hate him for too long."

Mae listened to what Scott had to say but didn't say anything in reply. She just pulled Derek's jacket tighter around her.

Scott could see that Mae really didn't want to talk about it, about anything right then so he just said, "I'm here if you need someone to talk to, about anything. You're my beta now which is an automatic spot on the people I care about list. Even if you weren't my beta you'd still be on the list. And remember, I'm not Damon, you don't have to be afraid of me." Scott smiled for a moment then got up to leave the room.

Before he left Mae said, "Scott…thank you."

Scott smiled again and replied, "No problem. Come downstairs when you're ready. My mom's making pancakes. Oh and my mom washed your clothes from yesterday so you'd have something to wear while we figure out how to get your stuff." After that Scott headed downstairs.

Mae smiled again then took in Derek and Liam's scents from the jacket which was now intermingled with her own. It was melancholy in a way but just what she needed. After a few minutes of just lying there, thinking, she got up and got dressed; trying to prepare herself for the day ahead.

* * *

When Mae entered the kitchen Scott and his mom were debating about something. She thought it was something pertaining to everything had been going on and wasn't quite ready to deal with that.

All those thoughts were shoved out of her head when Scott say Mae and said, "Here, we'll let her decide. Mae, which are better? Chocolate Chip or Blueberry pancakes?"

Mae looked caught off guard by that question. "What?" Mae asked with a chuckle.

"Chocolate chip or blueberry?" Scott repeated and awaited her answer.

Mae thought about it then said, "Well…I'm more of a strawberries pancakes kind of girl. So, not going to be much help with you there."

Melissa said, "Ah ha! Blueberries win."

Scott looked at his mom like she was nuts, "No way! She said strawberries!"

Melissa replied, "Yes but they are both berries which mean the deliciousness of the berry beats out the chocolate chips."

Scott shook his head, "Nope. Doesn't count." Scott then ate a big bite of his chocolate chip pancakes with a 'mmm' expression which made Mae laugh.

"You two are so weird." Mae said with with a shake of her head as she put some plain pancakes on her plate. It was oddly nice having breakfast with Scott and his mom. It actually felt like a home.

* * *

That afternoon Scott and Mae went back to her house. "You sure about this?" Scott asked as Mae took off her helmet.

"Yeah," She replied, "Damon always leaves for a run around this time. I'm just going to run in grab a couple things and get out." Honestly she hated this idea but couldn't think of any other way to get what she needed.

Scott clearly didn't like the idea of this, "I should come in with you." he said then started to get off the bike.

Mae shook her head, "No, I got this." Mae quickly got off the bike went up the front stairs, then headed inside. There was no one in the house so Mae took advantage of this and got her backpack and threw as much clothes as she could into a duffel bag. She was about to dart back out when she realized that her cello wasn't where it usually was in her room. Mae felt her heart sank as she thought about what Damon could have done with her beloved instrument. There was nothing she could do about it now and there was only a little time left before someone would be coming back.

Mae hurried down the stairs with her backpack and duffel bag. Before leaving the house she set her key on the table near the door then left.

"Everything alright?" Scott asked as Mae got on the back of his bike and positioned the duffel bag properly.

"Yeah." She replied as she took the helmet from Scott.

"Liar." He replied as he put his helmet visor down.

"No argument there." Mae muttered as her reply before putting her arms around Scott as he drove off.

* * *

Scott pulled his bike up in front of his house and helped Mae with her bags as she got off. Stiles' Jeep was there and when Scott got off his bike, Stiles came out of the house. "Hey Scott, hi Mae. Has Kira found anything yet?"

Scott pulled off his helmet then shook his head, "Not yet." he was really hoping that one or both of them would have found something by now.

Mae practically growled at that fact and walked past Scott and Stiles to bring her stuff up to the guest room. "What's her problem?" Stiles asked Scott to which Scott replied, "You really need to ask that?"

Stiles thought for a second, "Nope, not at all. Oh by the way, your dad's here."

Scott's expression turned into 'wth?', "Don't you think that's something you should have mentioned before Mae went into the house?"

Stiles got Scott's point and the two of them hurried into the house to find Scott's father talking to Mae.

"You're staying here?" Agent McCall asked Mae.

Mae nodded, "Until something else comes along, yeah. Why? You got a problem with that?"

Agent McCall replied, "No, I'm just trying to understand why a teenage girl is moving into the room down the hall from my teenage son's room."

Mae pulled her duffel bag over her shoulder as she said, "Because I've recently been kicked out of my house so instead of getting sent into the system or whatever, Scott and his mom were nice enough to let me stay here until things get figured out. That a good enough answer for you?" Without waiting for an answer Mae walked past Agent McCall and went upstairs.

Scott went over to his dad when Mae headed upstairs to put her things away.

"Should I be concerned?" Agent McCall asked Scott.

"Nope, just a friend helping out a friend." Scott answered. It really wasn't a lie either, he just didn't divulge the entire truth.

Agent McCall had an 'uh huh' look on his face then started talking about his reason for coming over, "Am I still picking you up for dinner tonight?"

Scott nodded, "Yep."

His father was pleased with that answer, "Alright. I'll be back later Scott."

Agent McCall looked at Stiles and nodded his head in a 'goodbye' sort of way before leaving the house.

"Good thing Mae didn't say..you know..anything." Stiles said to Scott and Scott replied, "She probably could tell he was a human."

Just then Mae came downstairs with her school backpack, "Yeah I could. And since your dad didn't know that I was going to be staying here I took the safe route and assumed he didn't know about anything else. Which was a little surprising I must say to realize that your mom knows your secret but not your dad. Family drama never ceases to amazed me." Mae adjusted her backpack on her shoulder, "I'm going to the library so I can have some sense of a normal teenage life. That includes getting school work done." She was heading out the door when both Scott and Stiles blocked her way.

"That's not a good idea." Scott told Mae.

She crossed her arms defiantly, "Why?" she asked, clearly not pleased.

Stiles scoffed, "You mean aside from the fact that you're some mystical key to unlocking an ultimate evil? Oh nothing."

Scott tried a different approach, "Damon could also be looking for you, especially if he realizes that you were at the house."

Mae did not want to admit that they had points but she had to, "I know but I'm not going to stay locked up in this house all day. I know everything involving me is going to hell and back but still I don't care. For one day I would just like to feel like a normal teenager who doesn't have a noose around her neck that's just waiting to be pulled. So please, just let me go to the library." She tried not to sound like she was begging, but in a way...she was and boy did she hate it.

Scott and Stiles looked at each other and Mae found it bizarre how the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation amongst themselves. They seemed to have a shared idea given the looks on their faces. Mae didn't think she was going to like where this was going.

* * *

Mae was right about her earlier thought. She didn't like where their idea was going. Mae was permitted to go to the library but there was a catch…she had to have a 'baby sitter'. Mae was in the library looking across the table at Derek who was reading something. The last person she wanted to spend time with at the moment was Derek but if she didn't agree then Scott probably would have locked her in the house for her own safety.

"What are you staring at?" Derek asked Mae and she replied, "The person who was haunting my nightmares last night."

Derek turned the page of his book, "What did your nightmares consist of?"

Mae just looked at Derek with a 'what do you think?' look on her face.

Derek looked at Mae and saw her expression, "You remembered?" he sounded upset about that fact.

Mae replied, "Yep." Then she went back to her school work but wasn't getting very far with it. Derek was more of a distraction than anything else. So much for her laser like focus. "I'll be back." Mae said as she got up and Derek started to do the same.

"Where are you going?" He asked because wherever she was going, he was going too. To an extent anyway.

Mae was getting frustrated, "I'm getting a book and I don't need a bodyguard to do that."

Derek didn't want to let her go off on her own but he sat back down, making sure to keep his eyes on her as long as possible.

Mae couldn't find the book she was looking for and was starting to get even more frustrated. So much in fact that she wanted to punch something. She leaned back against one of the shelves and tried to calm herself down. A part of her wished that she never moved here to Beacon Hills and yet the other part of her felt that even with everything else that was attached to it, it was the best thing that could have happened to her.

When Mae finally calmed herself down she found the book she needed and went back to her table. "Feeling better?" Derek asked when he sensed Mae approaching.

"Excuse me?" She asked in a 'what the hell are you talking about?' sort of way.

Derek looked at her, "I could smell your frustration a mile away." Was his truthful and straightforward reply.

"Oh." Was all she could manage to say about that as she took her seat. Mae took Derek's jacket off that she was wearing and caught Derek's smirk as she did it. "What's that look for?" Mae asked.

Derek smiled some more, "You're still wearing the jacket." he gestured to it as he spoke.

Mae looked at Derek and said, "Don't read anything into that. It's comfy, and I admit I like the scent, but that's all. I'm still mad at you. I can give it back to you right now if that's what you want."

Derek shook his head as he continued to read, "Like I said before, keep it. Besides it looks better on you."

Mae tried very hard not to smile as she went back to working on her assignments for school the next day.

* * *

Mae and Derek were at the library for most of the day while she got her school work done. When it was all set the two of them walked out of the library but stopped suddenly when they both caught Ty's scent.

Ty moved from around the van where he was waiting for Mae. "I had a feeling you'd be here." he said to her with a smile

Derek wanted to lunge right at Ty but Mae held him back. "What are you doing here?" Derek demanded.

"I'm here to talk to Mae, that's it." He replied with hands raised.

"You're not getting anywhere near her!" Derek growled back.

Mae didn't take her hands off Derek for a second because she knew if she did then he'd lunge for Ty and that wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Guys we're in front of a public library. Calm down before we make a scene." Mae could feel Derek trying to calm himself under her touch. She was glad about that then looked at Ty and said, "I'm not going back to Damon no matter what you do."

Ty nodded and said, "I know, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to give you this." He opened up the back door to the van and revealed Mae's cello. "I thought you might want this."

Mae took a couple steps closer to Ty as he pulled out the cello and held it out to her. "I promise that's all I'm here to do."

Mae didn't sense he was lying so she reached out and took her cello from him. "Thank you Ty." She turned around to head back to Derek as Ty said, "For what's it's worth Mae…I'm sorry."

Mae turned her head to look at Ty, "I'm not."

Ty took a breath because that was not the answer he was hoping to hear, "Hope to see you around Mae." He then closed up the van, got in, and drove off.

Mae held onto her cello as she looked at Derek, "Can you take me home now?"

Derek nodded and wrapped his arm around Mae, kissing the top of her head softly, "Yeah." he answered sodtly.

The two headed to his car and once the cello was loaded up Derek brought Mae back to Scott's house. It was quiet during the whole drive because Mae was thinking about Ty and Derek was thinking about how much he didn't like the fact that Mae had accepted the cello from him.

(End Chapter 8)


	10. Chapter 9

That Monday, Mae really wasn't paying much attention to her classes. It was a good thing she wasn't called upon to answer any questions because she wouldn't have been able to. On top of everything else in her life, Mae really didn't need the scoldings of her teachers on top of it.

Her mind kept going back to the same thing over and over again. If she was this key thing that could unlock an ultimate evil in Beacon Hills…then why was she still there? Why hadn't she gotten the hell out of dodge yet? Wouldn't that make everything easier for everyone if she left? If the key wasn't anywhere near the lock then the evil would never be released. That felt like the was the best thing that she could do and yet…it was the last thing that she wanted to. Mae hated not having all the details and not knowing for sure what was going on and what her role in it all was. Until she had all her questions answered, she couldn't make an official decision. At least not one without a whole lot of regrets tied to it.

* * *

At lunch, Mae found she wasn't really hungry. She kept spinning her uneaten apple on the table to just pass the time. Cello playing at lunch wasn't an option because for one thing she didn't bring it with her that day and another, ever since Ty gave it back to her she hadn't even opened up the case. She couldn't explain it, not really, but she wanted to put distance between who she was and who Paige was…and yet…she was starting to feel like they were more similar than she cared to admit.

Mae was pulled from her thoughts when one moment she was sitting alone and the next Scott and the rest of the pack came over and sat down. Scott and Liam sat on each side of her, Kira next to Scott on his other side, then Stiles, Malia, and Lydia across from them.

"Uh..hi." Mae said as she scooped up her spinning apple so Stiles could set his lunch tray down. Everyone gave her a similar greeting then started talking about classes and such. It was refreshing not to talk about the 'elephant in the room' but it was also weird sitting with everyone at lunch. Mae, even back at her old school, never really sat with a crowd. She was either solo or playing her cello during lunch. This was…different, but she really couldn't complain, especially with Liam being there.

The refreshing thoughts were thrown aside when Mae looked up to find Lydia staring at her. "What now?" Mae asked in an relatively annoyed tone.

Lydia tilted her head like she was examining Mae, "Just thinking" she replied.

Mae really didn't like that answer, "About what?", she asked. The rest of the conversations going on at their table seemed to cease as they waited to hear what Lydia had to say. Mae took a bite of her apple as she looked at Lydia, waiting for her reply.

Lydia narrowed her eyes a little in thought before speaking, "Stuff".

Mae could feel her temper and frustration growing which made her claws start to grow and her eyes start to change. Scott noticed this and quickly turned to face Mae better. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Mae…calm down."

She looked at Scott with her yellow eyes and replied, "Getting harder to do that when no one will give me a straight answer about anything!".

Stiles looked at Lydia and said, "Will you please just tell her what you were thinking about!" he then quickly looked around to make sure no one was noticing what was going on.

Lydia sighed, "This isn't the place to talk about that." She replied.

Malia then said, "Well she's gonna pop if you don't."

Mae glared at Malia when she said that. Malia's perceptions of things were honestly getting on Mae's nerves.

Liam saw the glare and said to Mae, "Don't bite my head off for saying this, but take deep breaths." it worked for him, at least sometimes it did.

Lydia rolled her eyes, "I don't think Paige…died, died."

Hearing this made Mae calm down and yet get more riled up at the same time. "Explain!" Mae practically yelled at her.

Lydia gestured to Mae, "See I said this wasn't the place to discuss this."

Mae closed her eyes and focused on her anchors, and did as Liam suggested by taking deep breaths, to make sure she didn't fully wolf out on them. Once she was calm she opened her eyes and they were back to normal. "What do you mean you don't think she died, died?"

Lydia took a sip of her soda before saying, "I can't really explain it. It's more of a feeling. It's just…the more time I spend with you the more it feels like, you have to be kept alive this time but doesn't really feel like you died in the first place. At first yes it felt like you should be dead but weren't but now it's more like…you never were. It's complicated." Lydia shrugged a little and continued her lunch.

"Lydia, I think you just everyone even more confused." Stiles pointed out and Malia nodded in agreement.

Mae was included with that statement and couldn't deal with it right then so she grabbed her backpack and left the table.

* * *

Mae was planning on ditching school when she heard Scott call out to her. She turned around in the empty hallway to find Scott and Liam coming after her. "Where are you going?" Scott asked worriedly.

Mae threw up her hands as she said, "Don't know but am tired of being here around everyone. You're my alpha, and that's my pack, and I really appreciate that but I'm not used to all this heavy duty supernatural drama okay? I'm not. One minute I'm just a sixteen year old werewolf trying to live as normally as possible and the next I find out I'm some reincarnation or something of a girl who was killed at a supernatural altar and because of that now I'm some bloody key to unlock hell on earth! This is too much for me to deal with." She had to catch her breath after getting all that out. Mae then held up her hands and backed up before turning around and walking away.

Liam and Scott continued to follow her.

"What if Damon finds you?" Liam asked her worriedly.

"What's the difference of him finding me here or anywhere else?" Mae retorted.

"At least here you're more protected with everyone around. He wouldn't do anything to risk exposure." Scott replied.

Scott and Liam hurried up to get in front of Mae to get her to stop walking. "If you have to go will you at least let one of us go with you?" Scott said, then Mae crossed her arms, "I don't need another babysitter thank you very much".

Scott sighed, "It's not a babysitter, it's a precaution".

Liam then quickly volunteered, "I'll go".

Scott looked at Liam, "What about your book report?"

Liam replied, "Already handed it in". That was the truth, he did hand it in. Now the quality of the book report was an entirely other story.

Scott looked at Mae in question and she gave up, "Whatever, let's go." Mae walked past them again and Liam quickly followed with probably a little too much jump to his step.

Scott stood there and watched them go, a subconscious part wishing that he was the one that went with Mae instead of Liam.

* * *

Since Mae really had no clue where to go since she really hadn't had time to see much of Beacon Hills, Liam took her to a diner since they both pretty much missed lunch. Mae was finding her appetite was back and was more than willing to go there. They sat in a booth near the back of the diner and enjoyed their lunch.

"Lydia really rubs you the wrong way doesn't she?" Liam asked between bites of his burger.

Mae let out a breath before she popped a fry in her mouth, "That's one way to say it. I don't know why but she…yeah. She rubs me the wrong way". Mae ate another one of her fries as Liam replied, "You'll get used to her eventually".

Mae picked up her milkshake and before taking a sip she said, "I don't think eventually is going to get here soon enough". Mae and Liam had a chuckle about that then they continued their lunch.

* * *

Meanwhile at the high school:

It was time to change classes and in the hubbub of the crossover Scott went to Lydia's locker while she was getting her books. "Hey Lydia, can I ask you a favor?"

Lydia turned to face Scott briefly, "What is it?" She asked as she removed some things from her locker.

Scott adjusted his backpack and said, "Could you not mention your…feelings about Mae in front of her anymore? The stress of everything is really getting to her and the last thing we need is her…wolfing out in front of everyone."

Lydia sighed, "Fine, whatever. But maybe you should be more focused on your own girlfriend instead of the copy of Derek's dead one."

Scott looked like he had no idea what she was talking about so Lydia clarified. "You obviously didn't see Kira's face when you tried to calm Mae down by touching her shoulder. I think it was a mixture of territorial and jealous."

Scott shook his head, "Mae is my beta and my friend. That's it." he was a bit defensive with his reply.

Lydia raised her brows like she didn't believe him, "Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that." The bell rang out over head, "Well, better get to class." Lydia then walked away, leaving Scott with honestly no real idea as to what had just happened.

* * *

Meanwhile at Damon's house:

Damon was cooking something in the kitchen when Ty entered. "Well? Have you made any progress?" Damon asked.

Ty took a seat at the kitchen counter, "I gave her back the cello as a peace treaty. It's the first step of me getting close to her again. Once she sees the letter I wrote to her inside I expect her to contact me".

Damon looked pleased, "And what did this letter consist of?" He asked.

Ty took an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and replied, "Whatever it takes".

Damon turned around and looked at Ty proudly, "Excellent".

Ty was still uncertain about what Damon's real motives were but until he had some sort of…reason, he wasn't going to doubt his alpha. Ty just smiled in thanks, got off the stool at the counter, and left the kitchen.

Once Ty left, Vanessa entered, "He still doesn't know what you plan to do with Mae?" She asked as she stood next to Damon.

Damon looked at Vanessa and replied, "No, and I do not intend to. As your husband pointed out he and Mae are quite close, connected even. Despite Ty's loyalty to me I am not going to risk anything getting in the way of him getting Mae back here before the blood mood rises."

Vanessa placed her hand on Damon's shoulder, "She will come back and you will become the most powerful alpha in the world. I'm sure of it." Vanessa slid her hand across Damon's shoulders as she walked away to leave the kitchen.

Damon continued to have a grin on his face for two reasons now.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Animal Clinic:

Derek was pacing back and forth in the back room as he waited for Deaton. When Deaton finally came in Derek started right in on him, "How certain are you that Mae is this key?".

Deaton replied calmly, "Without seeing her for myself I cannot be absolutely sure. However based off what I've heard from several people, it sounds like she could be it".

Derek replied, "So you really don't know anything for sure?".

Deaton shook his head slightly, "Not completely but Derek you have to understand, if Mae is the key and if she does get sacrificed at the Nemeton an evil unlike any other will be awakened. Nothing you have seen would even compare. Mae needs to be kept alive at all costs, but I don't need to tell you that do I?".

Derek was silent because there was no need to answer that question and Deaton knew it.

* * *

Mae and Liam had a pretty normal day and they ended up back at Scott's house. No one seemed to be home so they stayed downstairs. While Liam was flipping through the channels on the TV, Mae was humming something. "That sounds pretty." He commented.

Mae didn't even really realize she was humming until he mentioned it, "Thanks. I usually play it on my cello but haven't been able to for the past few days".

Liam turned off the TV and looked at Mae, "Is your cello here? I'd like to hear it, if you're up for it".

Mae thought about it for a moment and said, "Sure. I'll be right back." Mae got off the couch and ran upstairs to grab her cello out of the guest room. It would be nice to play her cello for Liam. She wasn't gone long when she came back down with the cello case in hand.

Mae opened up the case and found an envelope in there addressed to Mae with Ty's handwriting. She was not willing to open that at the moment so she tossed it on the coffee table.

Liam saw it and asked, "Important?".

Mae was setting up her cello as she replied, "Don't know yet. I really don't want to read it right now".

Liam already knew better than to push things with Mae so he didn't say anything more about it. Liam got comfortable on the couch as Mae pulled the bow across the cello strings and began to play the song she was humming.

Derek was outside of Scott's house to check in on Mae and try to convince her to see Deaton. The answers he could give her may not be the ones they wanted but they could at least keep Mae's mind from going crazy with all the unknowns going around. Derek was about to knock on the door when he heard Mae's cello playing. It instantly brought him back to the day he first met Paige, just like her playing had that day at the school. Against his better judgement he went let himself in so he wouldn't disturb Mae's playing. To say he wasn't pleased to find Mae was playing for Liam would be an understatement. It was probably a childish thing to do but he cleared his throat to get their attention, which it did.

Mae stopped her playing and looked up to find Derek there. She wasn't expecting him and in all honesty hadn't sensed him at all. She started putting her cello away when Derek said, "If you're not going to have the security system up then you should at least be on alert". He was looking at Liam as he said that, as if he was accusing Liam of not being responsible for Mae's well being.

"Forgive me for taking a little break from the supernatural." Mae replied sharply.

"You're a werewolf Mae, among other things, you don't get a break from the supernatural". Derek reminded her.

Mae had a look of 'you really don't have to remind me' on her face after Derek said that, which made Liam decide to change the subject, "So, Derek, what are you doing here?".

Derek looked at Liam, "I could ask you the same thing and where is everyone?"

Mae and Liam both shrugged, "We haven't seen them since lunch. Liam and I skipped."

Derek didn't look amused by the information Mae just gave him. "Scott let you do that?"

Mae which made her get up and go over to him to say, "I don't need anyone's permission to do anything". While that may be true, Mae is at least willing to compromise on some things…sometimes anyway. Mae was going to leave it at that then let her mouth run away with her by saying something she was going to regret, "Because you see, the last time someone forced me into something I ended up dead so I'm not really into the whole permission thing anymore". It was obvious that Mae didn't fully realize what she had said until the words came out of her mouth.

Derek's expression briefly showed how her words hurt him before he went stoic. Derek didn't say a word as he turned around and left Scott's house. Mae tried to stop him, "Derek!" She called out and followed him out the door, "I didn't mean it…" She said to him but he didn't acknowledge her words because he got into his car and drove off.

Liam followed Mae outside and placed his hand on her back in a comforting way. "He'll get over it". He said, trying to make her feel better.

Mae wiped the tears from her eyes and replied, "I don't think he will".

* * *

Meanwhile at Kira's house:

Scott drove Kira home on his bike after school. After she got off and gave him the extra helmet back she said, "I'm sorry we haven't been able to track down the rest of the legend. It's a pretty old one, and no one my mom's contacted can remember all the details. Apparently it was more of a fairy tale than a legend".

Scott knew all that was important but there was something else on his mind. Before Kira could say anything else he asked, "You don't think I have a thing for Mae do you?".

Kira was caught off guard by that question, "What? Why do you ask?".

Scott replied, "Something Lydia said. So do you? Because I don't".

Kira moved some hair behind her ear feeling a bit embarrassed, "For a moment, yeah I did. It's stupid I know".

Scott took Kira's hand in his and said, "There's nothing you could do that would make me think you're stupid".

This made Kira smile and the two shared a kiss before Scott started up his bike and headed home as his subconscious, on some level, was calling him a liar.

* * *

Mae and Liam were in the living room at Scott's house as silence hung in the air. Mae was still beating herself up about what she had said to Derek, wondering how she could have said something so hurtful to him. It was a deep rooted regret and wished she could take it back.

Liam didn't know what to say to Mae that might be helpful so he just kept quiet and tried to ignore the part of him that was glad there was more of a rift between Mae and Derek. Liam felt like a selfish jerk for thinking it and yet it didn't stop him. Finally Liam had to say something so he asked, "Are you going to open that?".

Mae had heard Liam speak but the words didn't connect with her, "What?" She asked then Liam gestured to the letter from Ty that was previously thrown on the coffee table. Mae looked over at it and with a sigh she grabbed it, "I probably should at some point but right now, no. This is the last thing I want to deal with". Mae shoved the envelope in her back pocket. After that, silence hung in the air again. "I have got to get out of here". Mae said suddenly before getting up from the couch and heading for the door.

Mae didn't get very far because Scott was coming in just as she was planning on heading out. "Where's the fire?" He asked Mae as he set his helmet off to the side.

Mae sighed because she knew that he wasn't going to let her go anywhere without a bodyguard. She had something in mind that she had to do and really did not want anyone else tagging along with her.

"Mae?" Scott asked again with a questioning look on his face.

She crossed her arms and said, "I need to take care of something". Mae tried to walk past him but he stopped her.

"Someone's going with you then" Scott told her flat out.

Liam got up from the couch and went over to them figuring that he'd be the one to go with Mae. Something Liam was more than willing to do.

"Scott, please. This is something that I need to take care of alone". Mae told him.

Scott looked at Mae and asked, "Can I at least give you a ride to wherever you're going? I won't interfere unless your safety depends on it, I promise".

Mae thought about it for a moment then said, "Fine".

Liam looked disappointed that he wouldn't be going with her but she didn't see that, Scott did though.

"Stiles will be coming over in a bit so you can hang out here if you want". Scott said to Liam as he picked his helmet back up.

Liam replied, "I'll be here. It's not like I have anything else to do".

Mae and Scott then went outside. As they were putting on their helmets Scott asked, "Where are we going anyway?" To which Mae replied, "The cemetery".

* * *

As promised Scott hung back and didn't interfere with what Mae wanted to do. She sat in front of Paige's gravestone and just looked at it. She kept reading over the name and the dates and it all felt so surreal, like a part of her knew that name shouldn't be etched in stone or something. Mae expected the stone to need some cleaning since she figured Paige's parents would have moved away from Beacon Hills but it was as clean as it would have been upon placement and there were even flowers in a vase next to it. Had Paige's parents not moved away after all? Would this be another thing that she would have to worry about on top of everything else? These thoughts and worries were swimming around in the deep end of her brain when a far too familiar voice pulled her up for air.

"Mae?" Derek said in surprise since he didn't expect to find her there. Mae turned quickly to face him and saw a bouquet of flowers in his hand that matched the withering ones in the vase. In that moment it clicked in Mae's mind; Paige's parents weren't the ones bringing flowers to Paige's grave and cleaning the headstone…it was Derek.

Mae looked just as surprised to see him standing there as he was to see her. She got up from the ground and brushed off her pants. "Hi". Mae said lamely and felt ridiculous for saying it. Why couldn't she have come up with something better than that?, she wondered.

"Hi" Derek said back with uncertainty of what else to say in that moment.

Mae started to say something then stopped so she could take the time to think about what she wanted to say as opposed to coming right out with something again. "I'm sorry Derek, for what I said earlier. I wish I could take it back. I'm so sorry".

As Mae was speaking, Derek was replacing the withered flowers with the fresh ones. He heard what she said and he had a hand placed on Paige's headstone as he replied, "I'm not sure what got to me more. The fact that you said it or the fact that you said it like it happened to you and not to Paige".

Mae bit her thumbnail anxiously before replying, "I never should have said it at all Derek. Can you please forgive me?". There was a pleading look on her face as she looked at him.

Derek turned around to face Mae and stood up. "There's nothing to forgive." He said, "You were right. If I never interfered then Paige never would have died. So I'm going to make things easier for you this time around and take myself out of the equation".

Mae didn't understand what Derek was saying, "What do you mean?" She asked because she couldn't accept what she thought he was trying to say.

"I mean, I'm going to leave you alone Mae. You don't have to worry about me ruining your life this time". Derek didn't say another word as he walked away leaving Mae standing there feeling like her heart had just been ripped out of her chest.

Mae stood there for…well she honestly didn't know how long but she knew one thing for sure; she wasn't going to leave things like that between them. She couldn't, even with a part of her tugging to have her go back to Liam, she couldn't leave things like that with Derek. With nothing else on her mind except for that she took off running and wouldn't stop until she saw Derek again.

Meanwhile Scott was talking on the phone with Kira when he realized that Mae had been gone a bit longer than she said she'd be. He told Kira that he'd call her back and went to check on Mae. When he discovered that Mae wasn't there he had a 'crap!' look on his face and picked up Mae's scent to follow. Once he caught it he rushed back to his bike, got on and took off in hopes of finding her before anyone else would. Unfortunately along the way he would lose track of her scent and have no clue as to where she had gone…

* * *

Mae didn't stop running until she reached Derek's loft and barged right in without any warning. Derek was sitting on the spiral staircase when Mae arrived and started right in one him. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You do NOT get to do that to me! You do not get to rip yourself out of my life without my permission! I want you in my life, I need you in my life! So bugger for you but you do not get to do that to me! I'm not going to let you!" Mae yelled at him with every step she took towards Derek who was slowly getting up from his seat on the stairs and just as slowly made his way to her. "What do you think Paige would say about how you treated me? Oh wait, I know, she'd say that you were an jackass because that's exactly what I'd say! If you loved her at all how could you do that! I screwed up with what I said but that does not give you the right to do what you did. I mean my god I can't explain it but I love you just as much as she did, maybe more!" Mae couldn't believe that last part had come out of her mouth. She had a thing for Liam, she knew that, she felt that, but in that moment she realized that what she felt for Derek went far deeper than that.

Derek was right in front of Mae at this point as she kept yelling at him and when she said those words that she loved him as much as Paige did, maybe more, he did what he wanted do since…well…pretty much since he laid his eyes on her. Derek leaned down and pulled Mae close. He kissed her with love and longing and never wanted to let her go. Mae was caught off guard by this action but that didn't stop her from returning Derek's kiss with the same love and longing as she wrapped her arms around him. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but find…not really amusement but something like that, because Derek was not only Paige's first kiss but hers as well.

Neither Mae or Derek wanted that moment to ever end but the shrill of Derek's cell phone caused their kiss to break. When they parted they looked into each other's eyes with a bit of breathlessness. The technical age difference between them did not make contact with their minds in that moment.

Derek's phone continued to ring so Mae said softly, "You should get that".

Derek didn't take his eyes off her as she removed her arms from around him so he could answer his phone. Even as Derek answered his call from Scott, his eyes never left Mae. "What?" Derek spoke into the phone, "She's fine Scott. I'm looking right at her".

Scott was on the other end of the line sitting in Stiles' jeep with Stiles and Liam because they were getting ready to go out and look for Mae. Scott was relieved yet frustrated with the situation. At least he knew she was safe since Derek just said she was with him. "She's with Derek". Scott informed the other two in the car. Liam didn't like that and Stiles looked relieved too. Scott continued his conversation with Derek, "Please keep an eye on her".

Stiles then said loud enough into the phone, "And tell her she pretty much gave us all freaking heart attacks! Thank you!".

Scott looked at Stiles with a 'was that really necessary?' look on his face and Stiles just shrugged.

Scott then told Derek, "We'll be at Stiles' house". On that note, Scott ended his phone call with Derek.

Derek listened to everything Scott, and Stiles, said and hung up after being told where they were going. "I'm guessing you heard that?" Derek asked Mae as he set his phone down on the table.

"Kinda hard not to with the super hearing and all". She said jokingly but yeah, she did hear everything. "I really didn't mean to make anyone worry". Mae then put some hair behind her ear and said, "So…Did that…I mean…Do we…I don't know what I'm trying to say". She let out a chuckle because she felt really foolish in that moment.

Derek just smiled and said, "Then don't say anything", as he brought her close again so they could pick up where they left off.

Mae had a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and said, "No argument here".

Derek chuckled, "Now that's a first". Mae had a playfully offended look on her face before their lips met again.

* * *

For the next couple hours Mae and Derek didn't do anything beyond kissing. In fact they did more talking than anything else. Even with all the complicated feelings between them among everything else, the two of them together just felt right. It felt right to the both of them.

At one point when Mae got up, Derek saw the envelope sticking out of Mae's back pocket. His curiosity was getting the better of him in that moment when he asked, "What's that?".

Mae turned around and realized that he was talking about the envelope, "Oh, it's a letter from Ty that was in my cello case. I haven't read it yet". Derek did not look pleased about that which made Mae say, "I'm sure it's nothing". She pulled the envelope from her pocket and said, "And I'll prove it". Mae sat back down on the couch and laid back so Derek's leg was like a pillow again. She tore open the envelope and read the words Ty had written. The letter read:

'Mae, I don't know where to begin really. Saying I'm sorry for what I did and what I didn't do isn't good enough. You didn't deserve what Damon did to you and you didn't deserve my betrayal. You have been my friend for as long as I can remember and I threw all that away because I was afraid of what Damon would do to me. That fear drove a wedge between us and I hate it. Mae I promise if you come back things will be different. I will make sure they are different this time. You are my family Mae, please come home. -Ty'

Mae's eyes read over the words of the letter then she folded it up. "Ty wants me to come home". She repeated to Derek softly as she folded up the letter in her hands.

"You're not considering it are you?" Derek asked in reply.

"Considering going back to Damon's pack? No way. Considering trying to get Ty away from Damon too? Definitely". Mae said like a girl with a mission.

Derek wasn't too keen on the idea but kept that to himself so instead he said, "The pack's meeting up at Stiles' house. I should probably take you over too. They might have found something helpful".

Mae didn't move a muscle because she just wanted to lay there and feel safe and loved for a little while longer. "Just another minute".

Derek wasn't going to argue with her on that because he didn't want to leave just as much as she didn't.

* * *

Eventually Mae and Derek did leave the loft but they did not go to Stiles' house. Instead they went to the school's parking lot. Before they left the loft, Mae called Ty and asked to meet up. She knew better than to go alone so she asked Derek to come with her. Derek didn't like the idea of meeting up with Ty, since he really didn't like Ty, but Mae asked Derek to go with her so he would.

Mae was leaning against Derek's car as she waited for Ty to show up. "He's late". She commented as she looked at the time on her phone.

"Maybe he is finding it harder to get away from Damon than he thought it would be". Derek replied trying to give her a legitimate reason as to why Ty was late.

"You're probably right, and that's what's worrying me". Mae replied.

Mae didn't know that she was playing right into the plan to get her back to Damon before the blood moon. The first step was to get her to contact Ty for a meet, which she did. The next step would be to gain her trust and the trust of her pack; which Ty was more than certain he could do, and last…well Damon would be taking it from there.

Ty was deliberately late to the meet to make her think that Damon was making it hard to get away. To make the lie into truth Damon clawed Ty's face right before he left the house. It wouldn't be fully healed by the time he would arrive, it would give him more reason to get Mae to want to get close to him again.

Ty arrived at the school and headed to the parking lot. When Mae saw him she moved away from Derek's car while Derek looked around on the defense in case Ty brought back up. The scent of blood caught Mae's attention and she hurried closer to Ty. "Oh my god". Mae said as she turned Ty's face gently to get a better look at the wound. "Why did he do this?". She asked with worry in her eyes.

Ty replied, "Because I was coming here to meet with you". Ty didn't lie which made this all the more perfect. Mae would just perceive his truth a bit differently than what his truth actually was. Ty's knack for that was one of the things Damon kept him around for.

Mae could feel her anger rising, "Ty, you have to get away from Damon. Scott, my new alpha, he's a true alpha. He's nothing like Damon, Ty. Please leave his pack I'm begging you".

Ty shook his head a little then winced from the motion of it. "Do you really think Damon would let me go so easily? He's already looking for blood because you left, which reminds me…he has a message for you. Damon says that if you aren't back in his pack by the next full moon then blood will flow".

Mae looked angry yet worried, "I'm not coming back". Mae said this firmly, there was no way she was ever going to change her mind about it.

Ty moved some hair out of her face as he said, "I know, so just be prepared for what Damon has in store because of it". Ty leaned down a kissed Mae's cheek before backing away and taking off.

Derek practically growled when Ty kissed Mae's cheek. When Ty took off, Derek went over to Mae. "What was that about?". He asked to which Mae replied, "It was a warning. Damon's coming for blood if I'm not back by the next full moon".

Derek thought about the timing for a moment then he said, "Mae, that's in a few days". Mae knew this and nodded, "I know, which is why we need to figure out what to do about it…and soon".

(End Chapter 9)


	11. Chapter 10

The heads up Ty gave Mae about Damon looking for blood if she did not return to his pack was something that she and Derek could not keep to themselves. Mae knew that Damon would make good on his threat, which meant that everyone would need to be on alert...be prepared. Damon's deadline was only a few days away. That did not give them much time at all, but they would have to make the most of it.

During this time the pack was coming up with as many scenarios as they could as to what could happened when Damon's deadline came. Ty had been allowed in on these meetings since he made it clear that he was leaving Damon's pack. Mae vouched for him so Scott agreed. None of them knew that Ty was betraying them by reporting everything back to Damon. Stiles thought Ty was suspicious and mentioned this several times. Each time Scott told him that if Mae trusted Ty then they could. Even so, Scott himself was weary of Ty as well. Derek and Liam certainly didn't like Ty being around so much. Part of it was because he was from Damon's pack but the other part, the bigger part, was his connection to Mae.

Lydia didn't have much of an opinion of Ty over the past few days. She had other things on her mind. One thing in particular was the fact that she felt Mae was going to die at the end of all of this and yet she was going to survive. She couldn't understand her conflicting feelings so she didn't voice them. Lydia wasn't about to get her head bitten off by who knows how many members of the pack for divulging this information without anything to support it. So, she kept it to herself like a lot of things. Lydia knew that eventually she would have to say something...but eventually hadn't come yet.

* * *

 _Suffice it to say, the days leading up to the deadline were a whirlwind. They went on with their day to day lives, were on the constant defense in case Damon decided to attack early, the plotting and planning, and everything else in between. Before they knew it...the day of the full moon had come. Every one of them awoke with a heavy heart as if they all knew that something terrible was going to happen that day. They didn't need to be psychic or anything like that to know something was coming._

 _Mae did not return to Damon's pack, just as she said she would not. This act would lead to Damon's soon retaliation. A retaliation that Damon would ensure...and would be one that no one would expect..._

* * *

It was late afternoon on the day of the full moon when Derek was at his loft getting ready to meet up with Mae and the others at the Animal Clinic. Just as Derek was about to leave, Damon, and Mae's parents; Vanessa, and Theo arrived. Damon entered the loft cockily as Derek prepared himself for a fight. The odds of three against one were not in Derek's favor, especially with Damon being an alpha, but he was more than capable of holding his own, if it did come down to that.

Damon looked Derek over as he said, "So this is the wold that stole my Mae away. Huh, I was expecting…more". Damon did not seem impressed by the werewolf standing in front of him. He had heard of the Hale pack and yet was still quite unimpressed.

Derek didn't take down his defenses for a second as he said, "Mae doesn't belong to you or anyone. Nor is she here". He hated how Damon was talking about Mae like she was a piece of his property.

Damon, with Vanessa and Theo not far behind, said "Is that what she believes? How sweet. No matter, I'm not here for her…I'm here for you". On that cue Vanessa and Theo both shifted and pulled cattle prods from behind their backs. They were not there to kill Derek, oh no, they needed him alive for bait.

Derek saw what the held and he wasn't going to make their attempt at a capture an easy one. He put up a great fight but eventually the odds worked against him, and he was over powered between the two betas and their cattle prods, and Damon; their alpha. Once Derek was unconscious Vanessa and Theo bound him before taking him out of the loft as Damon led them to their next phase of his plan. Damon walked out of the loft even more cockily than he had entered because in his mind...he had already won.

* * *

Mae and some of the others were at the Animal Clinic because Deaton kept wanting to see Mae for himself and determine whether or not she was the key to unlocking the great evil in the Nemeton.

Mae stood next to the tub filled with ice and moved her hand over the water, just enough to barely make contact. "I do not like this idea, not one bit." she admitted as she removed her hand and looked at Scott. "There's got to be another way. Anything but...this."

"There isn't another way, I'm afraid." Deaton answered in place of Scott.

"It's nothing Mae, we've done it before and survived." Stiles was making it out like it was nothing when in reality he knew the risks, but he wasn't about to let Mae in on that little tidbit of information.

It comforted Mae a little to know that they had been through this before and survived. "Let's just get this over with before I change my mind." Mae climbed into the ice bath and shivered upon contact. "Now what?" she asked as she sat there with her shoulders and head above the water.

"Now you go under, willingly." Deaton informed her and with a deep breath, Mae went under. She couldn't exactly explain what happened when she was submerged. It was like she was seeing darkness and light and a million different images all at once. Finally it got to be too much and she shot out of the tub with a gasp.

Scott helped Mae out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. She shivered as she started to dry herself off. "You get what you needed?" Mae asked Deaton who was looking at the water. Mae soon looked at the water herself when she noticed the others were too. Where there was once clear water, ice cubes, and herbs, now had a dark black liquid. "Yes." Deaton replied, "I do believe we did."

Ty arrived just as Mae had finished drying of. He saw the tub in the center of the room and the expressions on everyone's faces. "Alright...what did I miss?" Ty asked as he looked around the room.

"Oh nothing. Just the ritualistic ice bath that usually leads up to something horrible happening." Stiles replied sarcastically.

Ty had no idea what Stiles was talking about and looked at Mae with a 'what?' expression on his face. Mae knew that face well and while she was dry she was still shivering as she said, "Deaton confirmed I am the key." Ty still had no idea what was going on and how Mae was a key to something. That bit of information hadn't been mentioned over the past few days since Ty's inclusion.

Before any questions could be asked, Kira and Liam came into the back. "Kira's mom found it!" Liam exclaimed and Kira clarified, "She found the rest of the legend." as she handed Deaton a loosely translated copy of it. Deaton read the words aloud:

" _When a lamb is sacrificed at a sleeping altar it will awaken its power. The more lambs that are sacrificed the more the altar will awaken. When these tributes are given to the altar, the first sacrificial lamb will be returned to the_ _earth_ _as a wolf. This wolf will become the ultimate sacrifice; the key to unlocking the altar's darkest power. If this wolf is sacrificed at the altar then the darkness will be released upon the earth in the vessel of the one who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In order to stop the darkness, history must repeat. If history does not repeat itself then the darkness will wreak havoc upon the earth until there is nothing left"._

"So does anyone else think this sounds like the Nogitsune's eviler twin?" Stiles asked as he was trying to make a joke but it wasn't received very well. Ty didn't even hear what Stiles said because his mind was too focused on making sense of everything he had just heard.

Mae was really starting to worry and was starting to think even more now that she should have gotten the hell out of dodge when she had the chance. Now it was too late. Thinking of that made her think that Derek was also late. "I'm calling Derek." She said before grabbing her cell phone, "He should have been here by now."

While Mae was trying to contact Derek, Ty was finally seeing what Damon's plan really was. He felt a sense of betrayal as he put all the pieces together. Damon didn't want Mae back in the pack, that was just a cover...it had to be. Damon must have wanted to kill Mae and gain the darkness this entire time. And Ty had given Damon all the ammunition to succeed...

Mae wasn't able to get ahold of Derek and she was starting to worry. "He's not answering. I'm going over there." Mae was about to leave when she heard Ty speak.

"He won't be there." Ty said, which caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Excuse me?" Mae asked in a 'what the hell are you talking about?' kind of tone.

Ty looked at Mae and repeated his words, "He won't be there."

"Then where is he?" Stiles asked Ty who replied with, "I think there's something I need to tell you..."

* * *

Mae tried her best to keep her cool as Ty explained everything about Damon's plan and his part in it. She almost lost it a couple times but she knew if she did that he wouldn't be able to finish and she had to hear everything. When Ty finally finished speaking, Mae went right up to Ty and punched him right in the face. "I trusted you!" She yelled at him, "I let you get close to my pack, my _family_ and this whole time you were setting me up to have me killed!" Mae's eyes turned golden and she tried to swing at Ty again but Scott held her back.

"This isn't going to help anything Mae." Scott told her which made her eyes return to normal.

"Mae, I swear I didn't know what Damon's real plan was. Not until I figured it out right now. I thought he just wanted you back in the pack, I swear!" Ty was pleading with Mae, hoping she'd find some way to forgive him.

Mae tried to get back at Ty, but Scott continued to restrain her, as she yelled "Wy should I believe you!"

Part of Ty wished what Scott would just let her go and give her the chance to take it all out on him but the other part really wished she'd listen. With a sigh Ty answered Mae, "Because it's the truth but you won't believe that so believe this. I'm the only one here who knows where he took Derek."

Mae calmed herself after hearing those words come from Ty. Scott released her from his grip and everyone in the room looked at Ty in a way that told him the only reason why he was still standing there was because he had information that they needed.

Deaton finally spoke to break the silence, "Mae should stay here with me. Now with what we know, if Mae goes then she will be playing right into Damon's hands".

Scott had the same thought, "I agree". Mae going along was not even a possibility.

Mae had an 'no way' look on her face and voiced it, "I don't care if you agree or not, I'm going". This was Derek's life on the line. There was no way Mae wans't going to be a part of this.

Scott looked at Mae, "No you're not. You're going to stay here and you are going to stay safe. I mean it".

Mae looked right at Scott as she said, "And if you leave me here I will find some way to get out and follow you anyway, all alone. I mean that". Mae had a stare down with Scott in that moment, something Scott found impressive but he didn't think about that. What he did think about was that Mae would most likely find a way to follow them so he'd rather have her with them than try following alone.

Scott's reply was reluctant, "Fine, you can come. But you are staying close to me. If you die there then…"

Mae finished his thought as she said, "Then a darkness unlike any other will be released upon the earth. I know". She also knew there was a way to stop it if it came down to that. The legend said so. The legend said a lot actually, it all depended on how it's perceived by the reader.

With a brief look of 'I'm going to regret this' on Scott's face he said, "Let's go". Everyone filed out of the room before Lydia and Scott. Before Scott could leave the room, Lydia stopped him, "No matter what happens tonight, people are going to die".

Scott didn't like hearing that but there was nothing he could do. If they did nothing people would die and if they did something people would also die. If he was going to be one of those to die then he'd rather die doing something than nothing. So, Scott didn't say a word and just followed the others with Lydia right behind him.

* * *

The whole drive to the woods Stiles was trying to talk Mae out of coming, "You do realize this is suicidal for you right? And homicidal if you do wake up that darkness or whatever".

Mae had an 'I know, I know' look on her face and Stiles shook his head. "You should have stayed behind".

Malia leaned forward from the backseat and said, "If she wants to unleash hell on Earth that's her decision". Mae glared at Malia who returned the glare before going back in the back seat. "Was just trying to be supportive." Malia spoke with an eye roll and a bit of a huff.

When they arrived at the edge of the forest they saw Damon's truck. While Ty seemed to be telling the truth about the location, that didn't mean he was anywhere near close to being forgiven. Ty had burned too many bridges and crossed too many lines this time. Ty got out of Lydia's car when he saw Mae get out of Stiles' jeep. He hurried over to Mae and tried to stop her, "Mae, please don't do this".

Mae pulled herself away from Ty's grip and said, "I wouldn't have to, none of us would have had to if you didn't lie this whole time! If you didn't betray us this whole time!".

Ty took what she shot at him then replied, "I just wanted you to come home…I love you Mae".

Mae gestured for Ty to stop talking, "Don't give me that crap Ty, especially when I will never love you in any sense of the word again". Mae left Ty standing there brokenhearted as she went over to Scott and Stiles. "We'll lead the way". Stiles said to Mae before she walked right past him. "I remember where it is", she said. This may be Mae's first time to the Nemeton but Paige had been there before and thus Mae remembered.

As the pack entered the woods on the way to the Nemeton the Moon was rising in the sky and was beginning to gain a red hue with each passing moment.

* * *

The pack walked through the forest and the closer they got to the Nemeton the stronger Lydia's feeling became that there would be more than one death that night. A glow could be seen in the distance from torches Damon must have lit around the Nemeton. There was much light that night around the Nemeton not only from the torches but the full moon that was rising in the sky. The full moon was far redder than before, the red radiated off the moon onto the surrounding clouds. It was one of the eeriest things they had ever seen, and they had seen a lot.

Mae gasped when she saw an unconscious Derek strung up and bound. She picked up her pace a little and started running towards him. Scott told Mae to slow down but she didn't and when she crossed a certain point, Damon's emissary put the last bit of Mountain Ash in place to keep the unwanted out and the wanted in.

Scott and the others tried to get through but they hit the ash wall. When Mae realized what had happened she ran back to them. "Stiles, get rid of some". Scott said to Stiles quickly but before he could wipe any away Vanessa came out from behind a tree within the circle, "I wouldn't do that if I were you". She said as she raised a gun and aimed it at Stiles' head. Theo emerged as well with a gun aimed at Lydia's; since they were the only two present would could touch the ash.

Mae couldn't believe she had taken the bait and was getting angry, just as she was about to lunge towards one of her parents, Damon came closer, "Now is that any way to treat you're family?".

Mae growled at Damon, "You're not my family. Never have been. Never will be." It took everything Mae had not to try and attack Damon right then and there. She knew she had to play this smart but it was really hard to do so.

Damon laughed, "You are right about that. Your parents aren't even your parents. Those beliefs were just false memories placed within us. The power of the Nemeton is great". As Damon circled around Mae, she followed him in case he tried to attack.

"And you know this how?" Mae asked to which Damon replied, "My emissary has the gift of entering one's mind. When she returned to us something was…off. Soon after the truth was unveiled". Damon stopped walking and so did Mae. "Now, let's get down to business". Damon looked at Theo and Vanessa, "If the human or banshee move, kill them. If the wolves try to cross the barrier just let them try. It will be amusing to see them fail". Damon went over to Mae and asked, "Now are you going to come with me willingly or am I going to have to start ripping that wolf apart until you decide to come?"

Mae looked over at Derek and didn't have to say anything to Damon, he knew what her answer would be. "Good choice". He said to her as he walked towards the Nemeton. Mae turned around to look back to her pack; her family. She looked at each one of them like she was saying goodbye. After she gave out her goodbyes she looked at Scott and mouthed, "Trust me". Mae briefly looked like she was at peace with what was happening before her face turned hard as she followed Damon to the Nemeton.

Liam couldn't deal with what was happening. Between these events and the full moon, he gave into his wolf and shifted. Liam kept trying to break through the barrier and his failings amused Vanessa and Theo. Scott and Ty shifted as well and tried to break through with Kira also in aide. Barriers such as this had been broken before, they were all determined to break this one as well. None of them could just stand there and do nothing while Mae was being led to the Nemeton. The only ones who could do nothing were Lydia and Stiles, because if they tried then they would have been shot on sight.

Derek was weak when his eyes started to open. He thought he was seeing things when Mae approached him. "Run". he said to her weakly when she got close to him. Mae cupped his face and just said, "I love you". She didn't say goodbye, she wouldn't say goodbye, she couldn't.

Derek didn't know what kind of concoction Damon's emissary had given him but he was very weak. He tried to break out of his binds but it was no use. All he could do was watch. Hearing Mae say, "I'm ready" put Derek into overdrive. Even though he was weak he kept pulling at his binds, trying to break free. He couldn't get free, not in the state he was in, but that didn't stop him.

Mae stood in front of the Nemeton as Damon shifted. His red eyes glowed as much as the blood moon was shining down on them. He brought up his claw and slashed it across Mae's throat. She brought her hands to her throat and staggered back, falling onto the Nemeton. When Mae took her last breath, Damon roared out in celebration. Little did he know, his celebration would not last long.

Seeing what had happened to Mae shocked Liam back into his human form. The rest of the pack stopped due to the shock, anger, and pain of what they had just witnessed. Someone who they had come to love and care about in such a short time had been killed before their eyes. That's what hit them more than what they knew was going to come because of it. Scott blamed himself, if he hadn't let her come then she wouldn't be dead. In the midst of blaming himself, he had the feeling to look at Lydia, so he did. Lydia returned Scott's look and shook her head. Scott then turned back around just in time to see a darkness fill Mae and rise from the Nemeton.

* * *

 _You see, Mae had her own perception of the legend as soon as she heard it. It was like a part of her just clicked and knew what she had to do even if she didn't know why. Mae asked Scott to trust her because she trusted herself and knew what she was doing. It was confusing and strange but she just knew, and she was right._

* * *

When Mae fell back onto the Nemeton and her blood touched it, the darkness was awakened. The darkness seeped out of the Nemeton and into Mae. It healed her wounds and brought her back to life. Mae rose from the Nemeton as the blood moon shone its brightest down upon them. The darkness radiated off of Mae like a living aura. It was so strong that it cast a shadow over Damon. This caught his attention as he turned around to find Mae standing there with the power that he believed he was supposed to possess. "How can this be!" He yelled angrily. "You said it would be mine!" He shouted at his emissary in anger.

In the blink of an eye Mae was right in front of Damon and said, "You should have read the fine print". With an evil grin on her face she thrust her hand into Damon's chest and gripped tightly around his heart as she explained, "The one who gave the ultimate sacrifice would receive the darkness. Not the one who killed the sacrifice." Mae took her free hand and pulled a powerless Damon closer to her, "Me" She then ripped his heart from his chest and ignited Damon, letting him burn until he was nothing but a pile of ashes.

The group on both sides of the barrier looked in shock and horror, if they were to be honest. Vanessa, Theo, and Damon's emissary tried to escape but Mae reacted in lightning like speeds and killed each one of them the same way she had killed Damon. They didn't even stand a chance.

Scott told everyone to back away from the barrier. Mae looked at them with an evil look in her black and red eyes that matched the moon above, and with a different ability she blew the mountain ash away thus making the barrier disappear. Just as she was going to eradicate Scott and the others as she did with Damon and his pack, something stopped her.

Derek called out to Mae and in the blink of an eye she was right in front of him. Mae had her hand raised to trust into Derek's chest but stopped when she looked into Derek's eyes. He was her love, her anchor, and in that moment he was the only thing keeping bringing her true self to the surface. The black aura around her became lighter and her eyes turned back to normal, "Derek". She said in a scared tone to her voice. "I'm here". Derek said to her.

The rest of the pack tried to rush over to them but Mae whipped her head around and yelled, "Stop!" The pack stopped dead in their tracks, not by their will but Mae's. She turned back to Derek and with a wave of her hand his binds were undone. Derek wrapped his arms around Mae and held her close, "You can fight this".

Mae sobbed and hugged him tight, "I can't for much longer". Mae sobbed again and pulled back, she took Derek's hand and led him to the Nemeton. "History needs to repeat itself Derek. If it doesn't then the darkness will destroy everything".

Derek looked at Mae and when he understood he said, "No, I can't. I won't". He understood what she meant by history repeating but he couldn't do that to her…not again. The struggle was evident in her eyes. It hurt her to keep the darkness at bay. Derek couldn't stand seeing Mae like that, it brought him back to that night with Paige. Derek hated that decision then and hated it now but he knew he had to, "Okay". Derek said to Mae before guiding her to the ground. Derek interlaced his hand with Mae's and said, "I love you Mae". Mae leaned into Derek and said, "I love you Derek". Derek then closed his eyes and tightened his grip around Mae; killing her the same way he killed Paige to spare her from any more suffering.

When Derek felt Mae's life leave her, he roared out in anger as the darkness seeped out of Mae and back into the Nemeton. The pack was released from the spell, or whatever that was, and they rushed over to Derek and Mae. Derek looked so numb as he held onto Mae. "History had to repeat itself". Scott said in realization in that moment, which made the others understand.

It didn't make anything easier for them but they understood. Ty felt like he was going to die and couldn't look any longer. Lydia went to the front of the group and crouched down in front of Derek and Mae, "Not her time". Was all she said and before Derek or anyone else could even ask what that meant, Mae gasped a breath of life. The Nemeton rewards its sacrifices, _always_.

Derek loosened his grip around Mae so she could breathe easier. He couldn't believe his eyes, nor could anyone else around them. Mae looked just as shocked as they did. "I wasn't expecting that". Mae said with a bit of a cough. Stiles scoffed in a 'ya think?' way before saying, "None of us were expecting that".

Ty just about collapsed in relief that Mae was alright. They were all very glad she was okay. Derek helped Mae to her feet as he said, "I thought I lost you again". Mae smiled, "You can't get rid of me that easily". Derek wrapped his arms around her and hugged her before the others did the same.

After Liam hugged Mae he asked, "Did you know that was going to happen?" Mae laughed lightly, "Honestly, no. I just hoped that since the Nemeton brought me back once that it'd do it again".

Scott, and the others, didn't like how risky that was but they weren't going to call her out on it then. She was alive and that was all that mattered. So, Scott just said, "Let's go home". Mae sighed because she knew she needed to process what had happened but would save that for tomorrow, "No argument here".

As the pack headed out of the woods, away from the Nemeton for hopefully the last time, Mae looked up at the sky. The full moon looked like any other. The redness had seeped away just as the darkness within her had, leaving behind nothing but the purity that was only meant to be there there.

* * *

(The End)


End file.
